Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Makes New $533,000 Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 563 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in BlackRock by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $46,284,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,307,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $4.79 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $984.18. The stock had a trading volume of 479,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,026. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $752.30 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $152.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $923.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $974.25.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.