BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc.

Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 315 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for 0.2% of Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $674,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 6.6% during the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 471 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Down 3.0%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,132.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,134.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,035.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,184.13.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,258.56.

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.