HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 3,074 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,028 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,074 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $80,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Gibson Capital LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 593 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. GWN Securities Inc. now owns 220 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,121.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,096.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,049.57. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $917.39 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 55.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,383.00 to $1,488.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,298.00 to $1,320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,258.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,311.06.

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.