First Foundation Advisors Reduces Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

First Foundation Advisors decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,032 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $518,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,432,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,793,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,038,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 39,539 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,532,000 after buying an additional 12,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $866.69 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $134.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $947.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $988.95.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,099.62.

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.