Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 1,458 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 32.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,976 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,458 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 783 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $981.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $152.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $941.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $971.08. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $766.05 and a one year high of $1,084.22.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors 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 is currently 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.