Vest Financial LLC Increases Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 4,099.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,956 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 41,933 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $40,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 23.1% during the fourth 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 period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in BlackRock by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 31,520 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $32,311,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,982,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,478,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,112,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $984.18 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $752.30 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $152.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $924.37 and a 200 day moving average of $973.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid 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 is 50.63%.

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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