Ethic Inc. Sells 486 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Ethic Inc. cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 486 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,312,759,000 after buying an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after purchasing an additional 329,244 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,161.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,068.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $989.19. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market cap of $179.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the sale, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.