Bfsg LLC Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 77 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 24,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,617,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 903.0% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 8,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,223,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,176 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in BlackRock by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,528 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $987.08 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,014.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $975.94. The company has a market capitalization of $152.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company 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.