BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $856.21. The stock had a trading volume of 290,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,510. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 5.32 and a quick ratio of 5.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $810.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $799.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.32. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $885.10.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.53%. 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 prior year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 51.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $910.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $924.00 to $912.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $872.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,826,802.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 88,959 shares of company stock worth $73,660,507 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.