BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co lowered its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,912 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 200 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 237,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $192,997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,732 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 114,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $93,151,000 after acquiring an additional 56,357 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 387,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $322,810,000 after acquiring an additional 14,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $904.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $134.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $596.18 and a 12 month high of $908.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $862.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $815.73.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $902.13.

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.