BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group reduced its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 338,676 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,212 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $398,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,680,334,000 after buying an additional 227,192 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,281,641,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after purchasing an additional 842,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 105,267.4% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $953.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $148.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,089.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,098.99. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The business’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $11.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 64.71%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total transaction of $5,738,776.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 46,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,074,700.70. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total value of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,308.89.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.