NorthRock Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,630 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the first quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,156.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,135.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,037.02. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,184.13. The company has a market capitalization of $179.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,263.31.

BlackRock 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.