Peoples Financial Services CORP. Trims Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Peoples Financial Services CORP. trimmed its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,222 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Garde Capital Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,157.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,171.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,124.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,021.36. The company has a market cap of $179.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

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.