Westmount Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 303 BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Westmount Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 303 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,383,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $16,026,000. Platform Technology Partners increased its position in BlackRock by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 447 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,868,000. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $1.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,102.63. 545,380 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 693,792. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $996.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.03. The company has a market cap of $170.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,105.72.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. BlackRock's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $1,164.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,132.29.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.