Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 1,319 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,577 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $43,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% during 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 buying an additional 555,098 shares during the period. 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,071,339,000 after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Unisphere Establishment lifted its stake in BlackRock by 29.2% in the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 839,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $794,570,000 after purchasing an additional 189,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.2%

BLK opened at $1,138.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $176.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.45. 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 fifty day moving average price of $1,139.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,053.41. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,320.00 target price on BlackRock and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Seventeen research 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, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,299.29.

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.