BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,559 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 642 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,102.08.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded up $18.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,049.35. 799,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 694,738. 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 company has a market cap of $162.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $962.39 and a 200 day moving average of $968.76.

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. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.