BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stock Position Lifted by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $27,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.3 %

BLK opened at $934.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $942.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $866.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $817.30.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Argus upped their target price 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. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $902.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,826,802.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.