Portside Wealth Group LLC Makes New $277,000 Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 270 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in BlackRock by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLK. Barclays increased their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three 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, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $984.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $152.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $924.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $973.80.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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