Kentucky Retirement Systems Makes New Investment in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,083 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $9,543,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,712,493,000 after acquiring an additional 68,405 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after acquiring an additional 93,844 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,072,787,000 after acquiring an additional 190,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,450,475,000 after acquiring an additional 26,485 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,096.31.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE BLK opened at $974.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $948.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $969.93.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 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 analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.

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.