Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Has $14.59 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $14,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 73.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after acquiring an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,071,339,000 after buying an additional 279,336 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, Unisphere Establishment lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 29.2% in the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 839,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $794,570,000 after buying an additional 189,500 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business’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 sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,193.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $184.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,137.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,038.10. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,209.82.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. BlackRock’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 firm posted $11.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,320.00 target price on BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,264.56.

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.