BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 244,134 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 14,070 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 2.5% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned 0.16% of BlackRock worth $231,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,121 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,199,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 9,189 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,420,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $694,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLK. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays upped their target price on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $993.30. The company had a trading volume of 645,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,459. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $758.20 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $153.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $927.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $972.57.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.