First Financial Bank Trust Division Invests $1.69 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

First Financial Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,790 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,694,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $11.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $968.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 168,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,900. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $150.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $922.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $974.57. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.