BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Purchased by Sienna Gestion

Sienna Gestion raised its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,443 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises 1.0% of Sienna Gestion’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $923.31 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $930.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $864.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $816.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.28 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $902.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total transaction of $10,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.