BlackRock $BLK Stake Increased by Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 11.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,496 shares during the quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Garde Capital Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 87.5% during the second quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction 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 $6,478,346.42. The trade was a 16.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,088.99 on Friday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,092.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,088.31. The firm has a market cap of $168.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,360.00 to $1,340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,180.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane upped 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,313.65.

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.