Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Sells 73,272 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 80.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,722 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 73,272 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $16,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position 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. Kennedy Investment Group bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $568,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,057 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,144,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,102.08.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,049.35 on Monday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $962.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $968.13.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's 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.

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