712 Shares in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Purchased by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 712 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $674,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in BlackRock by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,793,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in BlackRock by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $15,307,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 242.3% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 21,905 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,455,000 after purchasing an additional 15,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $971.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $937.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $972.04. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $759.99 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Company Profile

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.