Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 520 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $431,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,812,920,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after buying an additional 1,279,952 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in BlackRock by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,918,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,181,346,000 after acquiring an additional 749,654 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 24,171.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 416,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $346,831,000 after acquiring an additional 414,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,990,052,000 after purchasing an additional 292,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,826,802.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 81,042 shares of company stock worth $68,587,117. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on BlackRock from $910.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Argus upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $874.07.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $859.84. The stock had a trading volume of 74,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,060. The company has a market capitalization of $127.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.32. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $885.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $822.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $803.64. The company has a current ratio of 5.32, a quick ratio of 5.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 32.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

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.