Exchange Capital Management Inc. Sells 179 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,704 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for approximately 1.9% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,812,920,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,952 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,918,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,181,346,000 after purchasing an additional 749,654 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 77,524.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 641,955 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,211,390,000 after purchasing an additional 641,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,745,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,128,544,000 after purchasing an additional 307,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total value of $7,155,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,151,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total value of $25,008,229.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 383,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,327,694.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total transaction of $7,155,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,151,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.4 %

BLK traded up $3.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $785.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 166,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,041. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 5.32, a quick ratio of 5.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $845.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $779.33 and its 200-day moving average is $793.03.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.25 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $915.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.17.

About BlackRock

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.