BlackRock $BLK Shares Purchased by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co boosted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,652 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 57 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 33,152 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,298,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.8% in the first quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

BLK stock opened at $1,130.06 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,139.45 and a 200-day moving average of $1,056.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,299.29.

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.