BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Flossbach Von Storch SE

Flossbach Von Storch SE reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 166,929 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 30,142 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned approximately 0.11% of BlackRock worth $157,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $568,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $578,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,057 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,144,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,132.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE BLK traded up $14.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1,103.70. The company had a trading volume of 467,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,080. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $993.20 and a 200 day moving average of $971.28. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,107.19. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company 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 yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was 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.