Eastern Bank Takes $47.73 Million Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 50,424 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $47,725,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.5% in 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 increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% during the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 20.4% during the first quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 65 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 786 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 579 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK traded down $14.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,091.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 672,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 784,464. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,038.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $980.77. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,130.66. The company has a market cap of $169.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

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.