Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 1,315 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,142 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,315 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in BlackRock were worth $67,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.3%

BLK opened at $969.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $752.30 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50-day moving average is $920.79 and its 200 day moving average is $978.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, research 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 paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. TD Cowen cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. 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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