Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Lowers Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc reduced its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 81.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in BlackRock were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during 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 bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:BLK traded up $4.80 on Friday, hitting $990.26. The stock had a trading volume of 623,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,393. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The stock has a market cap of $153.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $752.30 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $925.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $973.54.

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. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BLK shares. Citigroup cut 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 report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

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.