Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $1.77 Million Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLKFree Report) by 92.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 22,563 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.0% during the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the first quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 11,342 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,908,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,341,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $1,037.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $160.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,032.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,042.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLKGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 24.09%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $12.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 55.63 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 54.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,270.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.29.

Read Our Latest Analysis on BLK

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

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