Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,488 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,307 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $67,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $993.30 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $758.20 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $931.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $972.72. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $153.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Company 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.