Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Cuts Position in BlackRock $BLK

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $68,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 87.5% in the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $993.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,119.43 and a 200 day moving average of $1,076.59. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $154.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $11.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Barclays boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,302.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.