Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 1,743 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 16.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,029 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,743 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 81.5% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This trade represents a 64.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Evercore ISI upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,019.62.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $1,024.67 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $978.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $876.59. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $158.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $718.72 and a 12-month high of $1,068.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

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.