PAX Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

PAX Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 811 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 334 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 450 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 404 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $0.60 on Tuesday, hitting $843.84. 488,930 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 605,576. The company has a current ratio of 5.32, a quick ratio of 5.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $125.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $793.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $794.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $596.18 and a 52 week high of $851.88.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.22 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on BlackRock from $924.00 to $912.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $872.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total transaction of $7,155,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,151,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total transaction of $25,008,229.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 383,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,327,694.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total value of $7,155,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,978 shares of company stock worth $54,692,570. 0.90% 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.