Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 31 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 worth $10,990,052,000 after buying an additional 292,017 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position 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 worth $3,630,127,000 after acquiring an additional 435,358 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in BlackRock by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,952 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in BlackRock by 2.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 58,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $1,812,920,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.8 %

BLK opened at $901.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.32. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $596.18 and a one year high of $903.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $841.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $809.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 51.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BLK. Citigroup increased their price objective on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $910.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $985.00 price objective for the company. Argus increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $881.47.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.