PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 331,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,115 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.21% of BlackRock worth $347,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz SE raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.6% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,435,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Opus Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,420,000. Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,893,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $18,641,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in BlackRock by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 180,869 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $171,172,000 after buying an additional 35,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,303.41.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,083.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,129.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,072.92. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $11.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

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.