548 Shares in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Acquired by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 548 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.5%

BlackRock stock traded down $4.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $984.18. The company had a trading volume of 479,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,619. The company has a market capitalization of $152.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $752.30 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $924.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $973.80.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.