BlackRock $BLK Shares Bought by Riverbend Wealth Management LLC

Riverbend Wealth Management LLC grew its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 619 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in BlackRock by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,027,419,000 after buying an additional 387,466 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Unisphere Establishment increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 29.2% in the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 839,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $794,570,000 after purchasing an additional 189,500 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,171.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,140.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,040.78. The company has a market capitalization of $181.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,300.81.

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.