Palouse Capital Management Inc. Sells 92 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,729 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 2.5% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,990,052,000 after purchasing an additional 292,017 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 435,358 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,853,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,952 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,006,490,000 after purchasing an additional 58,681 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,015,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,636,052,000 after purchasing an additional 47,128 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other BlackRock news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $902.13.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $923.31 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $864.35 and its 200 day moving average is $816.48. The stock has a market cap of $137.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $930.50. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 51.84%.

BlackRock 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.