EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,079 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $57,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 4.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at $65,604,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.8% during the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 15,625 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,789,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP grew its position in BlackRock by 215.2% during the first quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 14,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,724,000 after buying an additional 9,900 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the first 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLK. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,128.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,104.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $998.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.45.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.