BlackRock $BLK Stock Holdings Lowered by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,129 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 73.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,142,340,000 after purchasing an additional 111,694 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 32.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,071,339,000 after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 932,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $882,970,000 after acquiring an additional 108,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,299.29.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,130.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,140.89 and its 200-day moving average is $1,046.85.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $11.46 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, 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 value of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.