DnB Asset Management AS Boosts Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $39,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 48 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 48.6% during the 1st quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $780.00 to $785.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $780.00 to $820.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $881.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $741.00 to $781.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $767.69.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total transaction of $14,989,208.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 464,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,399,315. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.82, for a total transaction of $1,525,611.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total transaction of $14,989,208.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 464,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,399,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE BLK traded up $5.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $703.02. The company had a trading volume of 130,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,975. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $503.12 and a 1-year high of $785.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $705.68 and a 200 day moving average of $680.92. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The asset manager reported $9.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.76. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.90% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 35.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 58.41%.

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.