BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,401 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th 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 worth $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $572,730,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded down $4.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $984.18. The stock had a trading volume of 479,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,618. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $923.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $974.25. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $152.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on BLK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Barclays increased 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. TD Cowen decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.