Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 62.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 618 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,029 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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 the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $974.60 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $948.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.40. The company has a market capitalization of $150.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,096.31.

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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