Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,018,000. Allianz SE raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,435,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,868,000. Finally, Weil Company Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 194.6% during the 1st quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 2,074 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,130.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $174.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,139.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,056.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BLK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted 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. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 target price on BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,299.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the transaction, 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 can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.