Garner Asset Management Corp Sells 953 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Garner Asset Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 27.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,459 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 953 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 1.0% of Garner Asset Management Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Garner Asset Management Corp's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BLK traded up $4.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,122.77. 152,097 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 793,616. The company has a market cap of $173.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1,024.96 and its 200-day moving average is $975.79. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,129.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

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.