MCF Advisors LLC Sells 20 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

MCF Advisors LLC reduced its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 436 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,366 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $354,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 3,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,826,802.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $875.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $846.98 and its 200 day moving average is $811.26. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $596.18 and a fifty-two week high of $903.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The company has a market capitalization of $130.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $985.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $883.13.

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.