Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,109 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $5,782,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $31,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BLK stock traded up $4.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,122.77. 152,097 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 793,616. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,129.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $1,024.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $975.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $173.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

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.