Magnus Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 414 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,082.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $990.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $153.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $925.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $973.54. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders 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 2.10%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

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.