BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stake Lowered by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,684 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,337 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,354,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,630,127,000 after buying an additional 435,358 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 24,171.5% in the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 416,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $346,831,000 after acquiring an additional 414,300 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,990,052,000 after acquiring an additional 292,017 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $161,918,000. Finally, Mubadala Investment Co PJSC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $147,748,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $949.07 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $891.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $827.42. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $596.18 and a 52-week high of $960.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.37 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.93.

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.