Andra AP fonden Sells 1,400 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Andra AP fonden lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 24.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,990,052,000 after acquiring an additional 292,017 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in BlackRock by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,354,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,630,127,000 after purchasing an additional 435,358 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in BlackRock by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,952 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,006,490,000 after buying an additional 58,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,812,920,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.47.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.8 %

BLK stock opened at $877.12 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $596.18 and a fifty-two week high of $903.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $854.14 and a 200-day moving average of $813.31. The company has a market capitalization of $130.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total transaction of $10,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% 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.