BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Bought by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp grew its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 39,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,844 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 1.3% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $37,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,712,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,405 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in BlackRock by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after acquiring an additional 93,844 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,072,787,000 after purchasing an additional 190,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,450,475,000 after purchasing an additional 26,485 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,104.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $171.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,013.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $972.96. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,119.19.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

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.