NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Boosts Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,984 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 422 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $24,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,121 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $627,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $818,000. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 278 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

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

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded down $17.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $971.24. The stock had a trading volume of 674,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,463. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $937.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.71. 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 company has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $766.05 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLK. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.