Merit Financial Group LLC Has $12.35 Million Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,046 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Amalgamated Bank grew its position 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 buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in BlackRock by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,793,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in BlackRock by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $46,284,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $15,307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $0.42 on Thursday, reaching $984.18. 478,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,024. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $923.63 and a 200-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 price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $752.30 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,082.46.

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.