Cantillon Capital Management LLC Buys 48,173 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 10.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 516,027 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,173 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for about 3.1% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $541,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $2,018,000. Allianz SE raised its position in BlackRock by 2.6% during the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $40,868,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 17.2% during the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,130.70 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $175.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,140.89 and its 200 day moving average is $1,046.85.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $11.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. TD Cowen raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,299.29.

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.