Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,556 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,190 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,556 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $40,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 474,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $449,086,000 after purchasing an additional 50,618 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.7% during the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 676 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.3% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 871 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,071.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,100.03 and its 200 day moving average is $1,083.82. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $166.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $11.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,302.59.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.