Berkshire Bank Decreases Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Berkshire Bank reduced its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,797 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises about 1.1% of Berkshire Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steward Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its position in BlackRock by 71.4% during 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 acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 77.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLK. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $881.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $780.00 to $785.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $928.00 to $921.00 in a research note on Sunday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $780.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $767.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the company’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 value of $1,525,611.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total value of $14,989,208.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 464,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,399,315. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was 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 $4,520,331.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $694.89 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $503.12 and a 12-month high of $785.65. The stock has a market cap of $103.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $706.56 and a 200 day moving average of $681.26.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The asset manager reported $9.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 35.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.41%.

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.