Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 2,593 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,267 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,593 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.06% of BlackRock worth $91,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $1,815,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $527,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,547 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,687,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,480 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,496,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.7%

BlackRock stock opened at $971.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50-day moving average is $937.84 and its 200-day moving average is $971.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $766.05 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.