BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by VeraBank N.A.

VeraBank N.A. trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 536 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,191,000. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 778 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.0%

BLK stock opened at $1,120.47 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,049.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.96. The company has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,130.66.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,151.21.

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.