Stratos Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 33.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,146 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% in the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,397,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $568,000. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $578,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,076.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $166.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $982.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $969.29. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,086.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BLK. Barclays lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on BlackRock from $994.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,110.92.

BlackRock Company 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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