Cape ANN Savings Bank Sells 235 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Cape ANN Savings Bank cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,116 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 1.3% of Cape ANN Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Cape ANN Savings Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth $1,120,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $277,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 96.3% during the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 483 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,160.75 on Friday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,183.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,129.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,027.68. The firm has a market cap of $179.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,213.67.

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.