Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,225 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $16,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Steward Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sierra Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 93.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on BlackRock from $747.00 to $725.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $873.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on BlackRock from $755.00 to $734.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $830.00 to $710.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $719.00 to $675.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $794.08.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $695.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.33, a current ratio of 4.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $633.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $687.70. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $575.60 and a 52 week high of $973.16. The company has a market cap of $105.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.25.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.94 by ($0.58). BlackRock had a net margin of 30.12% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 33.91 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 7th will be paid a $4.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 6th. This represents a $19.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 51.46%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 44,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.61, for a total value of $30,465,145.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 563,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,963,264.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 37,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.88, for a total transaction of $23,788,693.44. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 226,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,461,238.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 44,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.61, for a total value of $30,465,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 563,771 shares in the company, valued at $385,963,264.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company Profile

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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.