Blue Square Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Blue Square Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,016 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 1.4% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 54,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $43,302,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 27.2% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% in the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at about $15,143,000. Finally, Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 7.1% in the second quarter. Lane & Associates LLC now owns 496 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other BlackRock news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $883.79 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 52-week low of $596.18 and a 52-week high of $903.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $852.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $812.86. The company has a market cap of $131.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company 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 $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.47.

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.