Central Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 851 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in BlackRock by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $990.26 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $925.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $973.18. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $752.30 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,082.46.

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.