Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Has $4.35 Million Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 31 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises approximately 2.0% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 208.3% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $6.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $787.32. 769,459 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 564,991. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.34. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $596.18 and a 52 week high of $845.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 5.32 and a quick ratio of 5.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $779.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $792.90.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 32.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.93 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.25 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 51.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. UBS Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 price objective (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.42.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total value of $25,008,229.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 383,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,327,694.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total value of $25,008,229.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 383,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,327,694.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total value of $7,155,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.