Fiduciary Alliance LLC Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,908 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,752,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,038,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $46,284,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $15,307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,077.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK traded up $4.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $982.93. 495,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,086. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $752.30 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $922.52 and its 200 day moving average is $974.09. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $152.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during 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 was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

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.