Strategic Advisors LLC Sells 632 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Strategic Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 48.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 679 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 632 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $527,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,547 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,687,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,480 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $248,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $981.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $152.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $766.05 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $941.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.08.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. 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 issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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