Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 541 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Granite Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLKFree Report) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,858 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 541 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises approximately 0.9% of Granite Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $16,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,644,007,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after buying an additional 1,704,280 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after acquiring an additional 842,901 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1,962.0% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 792,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $831,524,000 after acquiring an additional 754,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in BlackRock by 29,043.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 245,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $285,748,000 after acquiring an additional 244,253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,093.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,093.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,104.77. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLKGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total value of $58,920,245.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 51,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,971,514.62. The trade was a 51.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 109,967 shares of company stock valued at $122,487,380 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,313.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. CICC Research lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,351.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,311.11.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on BLK

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About BlackRock

(Free Report)

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

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