SSA Swiss Advisors AG Sells 80 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

SSA Swiss Advisors AG lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 1.7% of SSA Swiss Advisors AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. SSA Swiss Advisors AG’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garde Capital Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.2%

BLK opened at $1,138.60 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,139.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,051.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Argus boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,299.29.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.