Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.1 %

BLK opened at $923.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $137.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $864.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $816.48. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $596.18 and a 52 week high of $930.50.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 51.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $902.13.

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.