Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. Increases Position in BlackRock $BLK

Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. lifted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,582 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises 1.5% of Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Columbus Macro LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.8% in the second quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 5,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,922,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 5.2% during the second quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 381 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 16.2% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,405 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in BlackRock by 7.4% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,780,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at $306,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,254.47.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,163.72 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,132.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,032.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,184.13.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

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.