Berkshire Bank Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Berkshire Bank lowered its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,797 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 1.1% of Berkshire Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $1,037,009,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,159.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 697,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $494,269,000 after purchasing an additional 696,830 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,335,602 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,363,708,000 after purchasing an additional 430,524 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $187,527,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 277.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 317,614 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $242,711,000 after purchasing an additional 233,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.01% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $694.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $103.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.21 and a current ratio of 4.21. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $503.12 and a fifty-two week high of $785.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $706.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $681.26.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The asset manager reported $9.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.90% and a return on equity of 14.29%. BlackRock’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.36 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 35.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $5.00 per share. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 58.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $750.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $780.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $741.00 to $781.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $881.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $780.00 to $785.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $767.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total transaction of $14,989,208.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 464,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,399,315. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total transaction of $14,989,208.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 464,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,399,315. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $733.82, for a total transaction of $1,525,611.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

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.