BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,292 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered 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 research report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,132.29.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BLK traded down $1.42 on Friday, hitting $1,102.63. 545,380 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 693,792. 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 market capitalization of $170.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $996.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $970.45. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,105.72.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. BlackRock's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.