BlackRock $BLK Shares Purchased by Acorns Advisers LLC

Acorns Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 426 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Acorns Advisers LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Allianz SE boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,868,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,106.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,113.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,003.92. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,154.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last three months. 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.