L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Lowers Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP cut its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,277 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,349 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up 4.3% of L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in BlackRock by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,307,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 242.3% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 21,905 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $22,455,000 after purchasing an additional 15,505 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related 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 now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK traded down $4.79 on Thursday, hitting $984.18. 479,363 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 688,618. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $923.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $974.25. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $752.30 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.63%.

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.