Alta Advisers Ltd Increases Stock Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 62.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 784 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in BlackRock were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,397,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $568,000. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $578,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $5.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1,076.28. 342,566 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 692,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The stock has a market cap of $166.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $973.12 and its 200 day moving average is $969.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS 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 $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 currently 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Argus raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,028.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,111.00 to $1,164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $994.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,110.92.

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.