Segment Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Segment Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 421 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $398,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $572,730,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.5%

BLK opened at $974.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $948.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $970.38. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $150.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,028.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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