UMB Bank n.a. Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $34,106,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $990.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $925.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $973.18. The company 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) 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. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,082.46.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $56,261,628.34. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.