BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 71.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,684 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,164 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 321 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 430 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,026.88 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,033.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,042.90.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.64 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 54.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,270.72.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock is expected to deliver another strong quarter, with Wall Street looking for Q2 EPS of $12.65 and revenue of $6.74 billion, both implying solid year-over-year growth and setting up a potentially favorable earnings reaction. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor demand for BlackRock’s cash-style ETF SGOV is surging, with assets nearing $100 billion, highlighting strong inflows into BlackRock’s ETF franchise and ongoing demand for its low-risk cash management products. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s tokenization and digital-asset initiatives are gaining traction, including BUIDL’s rapid asset growth and BlackRock’s role in a UK tokenization task force, reinforcing the company’s positioning in a fast-growing market. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock continues to be discussed favorably in comparison pieces and ETF coverage, but these articles are more informational than stock-moving. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on BlackRock to $1,383 from $1,430, but kept an overweight rating, so the signal is still positive overall despite slightly less upside. Article Title

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.