Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $8.33 Million Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Unisphere Establishment increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 839,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $794,570,000 after purchasing an additional 189,500 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,156.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,135.66 and its 200 day moving average is $1,037.02. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,184.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,252.00 to $1,301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,263.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.