BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Bought by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,720 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $2,018,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $40,868,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $15,307,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 17.2% during the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,397,000 after buying an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BLK stock traded down $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,104.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 991,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 702,213. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The company has a market capitalization of $171.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,013.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $972.96. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,119.19.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Company 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.