Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Sells BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares

Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) recently sold shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK). In a filing disclosed on February 13th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in BlackRock stock on January 17th.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Chubb (NYSE:CB) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/3/2025.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $973.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,020.68 and its 200-day moving average is $972.03.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 20.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

About Senator Capito

Shelley Moore Capito (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from West Virginia. She assumed office on January 3, 2015. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027. Capito (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent West Virginia. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020. Capito was first elected to the Senate in 2014, becoming the first female U.S. Senator in the state’s history. Prior to serving in the Senate, Capito was a member of the West Virginia House of Representatives from 1997 to 2001 and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2015. At the start of the 116th Congress, Capito was a member of the U.S. Senate committees on Appropriations, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Environment and Public Works, and Rules and Administration. As of a 2014 analysis of multiple outside rankings, Capito is a more moderate right of center Republican Party vote. As a result, she may break with the Republican Party line more than her fellow members. Capito earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University. After earning her M.Ed. from the University of Virginia, Capito was a college counselor and then director of an educational information center. She was the only Republican in the West Virginia congressional delegation until the 2010 elections and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from West Virginia. Capito is a former chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, as well as a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus. After an explosion responsible for the death of 29 coal workers, Capito founded the Congressional Coal Caucus. Prior to her election to the U.S. House, Capito served in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

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.