BlackRock $BLK Shares Bought by Aries Wealth Management

Aries Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Aries Wealth Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 5.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,107,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,193.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The company has a market capitalization of $184.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,137.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,038.10. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,209.82.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $11.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 report on Thursday, October 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,263.31.

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.