GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 3,496,740 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises 0.6% of GAMMA Investing LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 2.25% of BlackRock worth $3,312,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BLK. Citigroup lowered their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE BLK traded up $4.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $982.79. 161,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 687,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $922.52 and its 200-day moving average is $974.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $752.30 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.