Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,152 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $31,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Norden Group LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 652 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 511 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.5%

BLK traded up $16.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,070.53. The company had a trading volume of 494,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,309. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $969.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $968.68. The company has a market capitalization of $165.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.81 EPS. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $994.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,105.15.

Insider Activity

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

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.