Wesbanco Bank Inc. Buys 314 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,089 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the first 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, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,124.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $174.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,115.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,007.38.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,154.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.