Viking Fund Management LLC Has $8.52 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Viking Fund Management LLC lowered its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for 1.2% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.8% during 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 last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following 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 owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $977.79 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $922.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $974.09. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $752.30 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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 return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. 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 Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,077.08.

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.