PFG Advisors Grows Position in BlackRock $BLK

PFG Advisors lifted its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 43.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 532 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,026,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 5.9% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,849,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $1,083.98 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $167.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,129.11 and a 200-day moving average of $1,072.92.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,320.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,303.41.

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.