Columbia Asset Management Takes $1.08 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Columbia Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,137 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,076,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during 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 in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,515 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK traded down $4.79 on Thursday, hitting $984.18. 479,363 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,618. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $923.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $974.25. The firm has a market cap of $152.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $752.30 and a twelve month 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 the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

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.