Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 62,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $49,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7 %

BLK opened at $928.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The company has a market cap of $138.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $596.18 and a one year high of $942.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $868.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $817.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.28 EPS. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Barclays boosted their price target on BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $902.13.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value 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 $5,832,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.