Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 431 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% in the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 123 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,110.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK traded down $5.60 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,076.55. 559,629 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 695,549. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $979.68 and a 200-day moving average of $968.96. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,086.92. The stock has a market cap of $166.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

BlackRock 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.