BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Mission Wealth Management LP

Mission Wealth Management LP reduced its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,255 shares during the quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Welch Group LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 1.2% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its position in BlackRock by 14.3% in the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total value of $31,675,823.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,363,724.98. This represents a 71.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $69,630,750. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 48,305 shares of company stock worth $55,488,396 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,119.25 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $173.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,090.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,108.35.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,314.71.

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.