Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Sells 46,109 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 353,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 46,109 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up approximately 4.0% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned 0.23% of BlackRock worth $363,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in BlackRock by 73.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,243,059,000 after acquiring an additional 555,098 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 10.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,142,340,000 after acquiring an additional 111,694 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 32.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 13.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 932,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $882,970,000 after acquiring an additional 108,473 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,362.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,252.00 to $1,301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,258.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 3.0%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,132.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,184.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,134.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,035.56. The stock has a market cap of $175.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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 was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.39%.

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.