Guinness Asset Management LTD Sells 6,906 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Guinness Asset Management LTD reduced its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,906 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for 4.7% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned about 0.17% of BlackRock worth $243,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 794 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 80,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $76,149,000 after purchasing an additional 37,662 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $240,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,134.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $175.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,114.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,005.86. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,171.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.BlackRock’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,154.07.

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.