Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Takes Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 272 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $1,164.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,108.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $1,075.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 498,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 695,441. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $982.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $969.29. 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 $166.69 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,086.84.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.63%.

BlackRock 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.