BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,394 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 743 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

BLK stock traded up $5.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,076.28. 342,684 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 694,677. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $976.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $969.46.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,110.92.

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.