Sepio Capital LP Sells 71 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Sepio Capital LP decreased its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,048.41 on Monday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,107.94 and a 200 day moving average of $1,082.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The business’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.46 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 53.59%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BLK shares. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. TD Cowen lifted 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,302.59.

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.