BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,721 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 1.2% of Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 48 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 48.6% during the 1st quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.82, for a total transaction of $1,525,611.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.82, for a total transaction of $1,525,611.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total transaction of $14,989,208.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 464,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,399,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.7 %

BLK stock traded down $5.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $689.70. The stock had a trading volume of 165,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,930. The firm has a market cap of $102.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 4.21. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $503.12 and a 12-month high of $785.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $706.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $681.26.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The asset manager reported $9.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.52 by $0.76. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.90% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 35.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $5.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $780.00 to $785.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $881.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $780.00 to $820.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $770.00 to $835.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $750.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $767.69.

BlackRock Company 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.