Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 131 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,990,052,000 after purchasing an additional 292,017 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in BlackRock by 11.1% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,354,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,630,127,000 after buying an additional 435,358 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,952 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,006,490,000 after acquiring an additional 58,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,015,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,636,052,000 after acquiring an additional 47,128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $885.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $903.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $857.98 and a 200-day moving average of $814.50. The company has a market cap of $131.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 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 firm had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.28 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $902.13.

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.