Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Lowers Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,916 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $572,730,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,152,907,000 after acquiring an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,082.44 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,006.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $972.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,112.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,151.21.

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.