American Trust Lowers Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

American Trust cut its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,404 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,990,052,000 after purchasing an additional 292,017 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in BlackRock by 11.1% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,354,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,630,127,000 after buying an additional 435,358 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,853,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,952 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,006,490,000 after acquiring an additional 58,681 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,015,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,636,052,000 after purchasing an additional 47,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,826,802.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total transaction of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $934.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $596.18 and a 12-month high of $952.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $883.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $823.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

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.