Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Sells 384 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,664 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 384 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% during the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,397,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $568,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at $578,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,057 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,144,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,108.62.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,084.53 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $986.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $970.03. The company has a market capitalization of $168.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,086.84.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.

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