BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Evelyn Partners Investment Management Europe Ltd

Evelyn Partners Investment Management Europe Ltd decreased its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 58.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Europe Ltd’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,104,122,000 after purchasing an additional 842,901 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after buying an additional 555,098 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the 1st 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 period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during 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 buying an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $231,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 2.1%

BLK opened at $1,013.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,117.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,077.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $11.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,312.00 to $1,305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,302.53.

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.