United Advisor Group LLC Sells 227 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

United Advisor Group LLC lessened its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 35.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 419 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $977.88 on Friday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $151.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $946.64 and a 200-day moving average of $970.82.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,096.31.

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.