BlackRock $BLK Stake Lessened by Eschler Asset Management LLP

Eschler Asset Management LLP decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 51.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 696 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 737 shares during the quarter. Eschler Asset Management LLP’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 107.1% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 87.5% in the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,180.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 price target on BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,313.65.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,088.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,092.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,087.56. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. The company has a market capitalization of $168.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.47.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced 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 14.80%. The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $11.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company 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.