BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,249 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $32,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth approximately $1,296,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 44.1% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,851 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,025,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% in the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 13.6% in the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,713,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.4% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,207 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,660,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,096.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $1,138.25 and a 200 day moving average of $1,059.80. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, 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 sale, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,299.29.

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.