Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,173 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $30,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kelly Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $85,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 139.8% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 844 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 968 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Bank grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Bank now owns 486 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $993.30 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $758.20 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $931.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $972.72. The company has a market capitalization of $153.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid 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 yield of 2.10%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company 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.