iSAM Funds UK Ltd Makes New Investment in BlackRock $BLK

iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,518 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Garde Capital Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 200.0% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 87.5% in the second quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at $6,478,346.42. The trade was a 16.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,060.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $164.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.47. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,097.76 and a 200-day moving average of $1,085.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.46 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,312.00 to $1,305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,302.59.

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.