Patton Fund Management Inc. Buys New Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,593 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,347,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 9.5% in the fourth 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 4th 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 period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 783 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded up $8.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $977.88. 662,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 690,856. The company has a market cap of $151.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $942.61 and a 200 day moving average of $971.07. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,096.31.

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.