4,593 Shares in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Purchased by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,593 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $4,347,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $572,730,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.0%

BLK opened at $981.36 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $766.05 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $941.17 and a 200-day moving average of $971.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The company has a market capitalization of $152.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.81 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,082.46.

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.