First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 3,424 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 17.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,880 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 3,424 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for approximately 4.6% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $21,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded up $2.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1,050.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 528,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,081. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. 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 $162.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.41. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $962.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $968.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors 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 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BLK. Argus upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,028.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,102.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.