World Investment Advisors Boosts Stock Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

World Investment Advisors raised its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,955 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% during the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 123 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This 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 this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,108.62.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.0%

BLK stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,075.92. 498,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 694,780. The firm has a market cap of $166.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,086.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $982.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $969.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.81 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 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.