Piscataqua Savings Bank Sells 38 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Piscataqua Savings Bank reduced its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,827 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 38 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 1.0% of Piscataqua Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Piscataqua Savings Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its stake in BlackRock by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 48 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 48.6% in the first quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 52 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 77.01% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $694.89 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $503.12 and a 1-year high of $785.65. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $103.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $706.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $681.26.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The asset manager reported $9.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 29.90%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 35.48 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $780.00 to $820.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $741.00 to $781.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on BlackRock from $750.00 to $815.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $780.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $767.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $742.04, for a total transaction of $14,989,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 464,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,399,315. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 2,079 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,520,331.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $14,989,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 464,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,399,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.