BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Beacon Financial Group

Beacon Financial Group trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,037 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 451 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group's holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,432,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,793,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake 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 position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,307,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in BlackRock by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 21,905 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $22,455,000 after purchasing an additional 15,505 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group dropped 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BLK traded down $4.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $984.18. The company had a trading volume of 479,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,618. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $752.30 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $923.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $974.25. The stock has a market cap of $152.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

About BlackRock

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.