Creative Planning Increases Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Creative Planning increased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,864 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $17,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XML Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 473 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 6.1% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 226 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.3% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 4.4% during the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 311 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $902.13.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $949.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $596.18 and a 52 week high of $952.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $881.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $822.72. The company has a market capitalization of $141.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.30.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,826,802.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. 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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company 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.