VestGen Investment Management Cuts Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

VestGen Investment Management lessened its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 224 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11 shares during the quarter. VestGen Investment Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Garde Capital Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,138.60 on Monday. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,139.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,054.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,299.29.

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.