Rockland Trust Co. Makes New $25.56 Million Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 27,008 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $25,563,000. BlackRock makes up about 1.3% of Rockland Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,712,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,405 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after buying an additional 93,844 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after buying an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,072,787,000 after buying an additional 190,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,450,475,000 after acquiring an additional 26,485 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $17.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $971.24. 674,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 689,208. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $934.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $972.41. The company has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $759.99 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. 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 (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

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.