Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Raises Position in BlackRock $BLK

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 402 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 11.7% during the first quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas purchased a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,077,000. FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,298,000. Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% in the first quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 388 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 42.1% in the first quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,067 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $1,136.35 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,074.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $989.18.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.