Sfmg LLC Boosts Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,375 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 183 shares during the quarter. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,680,334,000 after purchasing an additional 227,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,281,641,000 after purchasing an additional 34,049 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after buying an additional 842,901 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,243,059,000 after buying an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 10.2% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 111,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,013.85 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,117.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,077.23. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $157.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,302.53.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.