Morningstar Investment Services LLC Has $2.38 Million Stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 54.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,514 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,012 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after buying an additional 3,496,740 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after buying an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $572,730,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,152,907,000 after purchasing an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,104.21. 991,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 702,213. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,119.19. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,013.56 and a 200 day moving average of $972.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.