BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Position Increased by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 121.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,248 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,523 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 1.1% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of BlackRock worth $72,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BLK. Citigroup raised their target price on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $902.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.3 %

BLK stock opened at $934.61 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $596.18 and a twelve month high of $942.73. The company has a market cap of $138.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $866.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $817.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 51.84%.

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.