IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Acquires New Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,691 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,555,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 257.9% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 68 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus upped their price objective on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on BlackRock from $995.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $991.46.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK traded down $13.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,002.50. 683,933 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 578,210. The company's 50-day moving average is $909.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $834.95. The company has a market cap of $148.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $596.18 and a 12-month high of $1,031.46.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,826,802.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 11,061 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.95, for a total value of $9,434,479.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,527,116. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,042 shares of company stock valued at $56,857,777 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.