BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,898 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $14,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total transaction of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.4 %

BLK stock opened at $941.23 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $596.18 and a 52-week high of $942.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $872.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $819.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 15.44%. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $902.13.

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.