Osaic Holdings Inc. Boosts Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,861 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,070 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $44,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 9.6% in the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in BlackRock by 14.3% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,083.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,090.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,089.89. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $168.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.47.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $11.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 53.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,180.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,313.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About BlackRock

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.