Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,956 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 236 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock 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 transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BLK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,132.29.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded down $1.42 on Friday, reaching $1,102.63. The stock had a trading volume of 538,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,937. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $993.20 and a 200 day moving average of $971.28. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,105.72.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

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.