Madison Asset Management LLC Buys 1,647 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Madison Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,531 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $37,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at $31,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,352 shares of company stock worth $55,486,962 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $5.11 on Friday, reaching $1,123.48. 516,296 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 672,644. The company has a market capitalization of $174.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,130.66. The firm's 50-day moving average is $1,027.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $976.79. 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 (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLK. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

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.