Eschler Asset Management LLP Has $730,000 Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Eschler Asset Management LLP decreased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 696 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 737 shares during the quarter. Eschler Asset Management LLP’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $730,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Curi Capital LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 34.8% during the second quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 29,782 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,249,000 after acquiring an additional 7,685 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,221 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,479,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 6,833 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $420,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in BlackRock by 15.9% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 124,380 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $130,506,000 after purchasing an additional 17,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,088.99 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,092.11 and a 200-day moving average of $1,087.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $168.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.47.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $11.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,180.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,313.65.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,346.42. The trade was a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Profile

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.