WASHINGTON TRUST Co Increases Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 7,545.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,849 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 24,524 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up 0.9% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. WASHINGTON TRUST Co's holdings in BlackRock were worth $23,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,038,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $15,307,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $568,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,057 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $16,144,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3%

BlackRock stock traded up $2.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1,050.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 528,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,081. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $962.39 and a 200-day moving average of $968.13. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $162.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $994.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Argus upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,028.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,102.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.