Montecito Bank & Trust Takes $1.53 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,082.46.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $971.24 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $937.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $766.05 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G 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 earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.