Patton Fund Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,593 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $4,347,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 672 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $435,000. Signature Wealth Management Group increased its position in BlackRock by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 2,347 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,222,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $981.36 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $941.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market cap of $152.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $766.05 and a one year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted 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. Citigroup decreased 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. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased 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 lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,082.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.