Beacon Financial Group Has $5.71 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Beacon Financial Group decreased its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,037 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 451 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,515 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:BLK opened at $988.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $153.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $923.63 and a 200 day moving average of $974.25. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $752.30 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,082.46.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

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.