Conning Inc. Has $36.81 Million Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Conning Inc. trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,078 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,358 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $36,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $2,018,000. Allianz SE boosted its position in BlackRock by 2.6% during the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $40,868,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 17.2% during the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,362.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,258.56.

BlackRock Trading Down 3.0%

BLK opened at $1,132.12 on Friday. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,184.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,134.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,034.64. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.36 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.