Edgestream Partners L.P. Reduces Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lowered its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 51.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 226 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $10,128,000. Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $7,331,000. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the first quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 1,654 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,565,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Finally, Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,018,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,104.21 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,013.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $972.65. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,119.19. The company has a market cap of $171.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

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.

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