Dearborn Partners LLC Trims Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 87.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,813 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 34,716 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $2,018,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,868,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,307,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% during the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” 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 on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,120.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $173.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,130.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,032.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $978.79.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,352 shares of company stock valued at $55,486,962 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.