Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Sells 1,573 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 81.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 364 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BLK opened at $982.93 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $752.30 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $152.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $922.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $974.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 business earned $9.81 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of 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. Three 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.