Guinness Asset Management LTD Has $228.77 Million Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Guinness Asset Management LTD lowered its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,823 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,427 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises 3.7% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $228,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,307 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,610,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,596,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 550 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,116,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.9%

BLK stock opened at $1,073.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $166.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,018.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,054.00. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $917.39 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 57.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,220.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,269.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,069.56, for a total transaction of $240,651.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,054,779.16. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,083.05, for a total value of $2,166,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,127,439. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 45,249 shares of company stock worth $47,671,714 in the last ninety days. 1.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Profile

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.