Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $72.74 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 69,327 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 967 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $72,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,157.69 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,124.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,020.52. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89. The stock has a market cap of $179.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.45.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,154.07.

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.