Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 23.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 793 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on BlackRock from $994.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,110.92.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $5.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,076.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 342,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,908. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $973.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $969.38. The company has a market capitalization of $166.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.41. 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 has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio 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.