Morningstar Investment Management LLC Invests $1.75 Million in BlackRock $BLK

Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,667 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,749,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 10.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,500,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 5.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,172,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.6% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,935 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,618,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,156.20 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,135.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,037.02. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $179.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,184.13.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,221.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,263.31.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.