Griffith & Werner Inc. Decreases Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Griffith & Werner Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 814 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $301,000. Telos Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $34,700,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $270,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued 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 $1,082.46.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $990.26 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $153.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $925.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $973.18.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.