Providence First Trust Co Has $2.79 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Providence First Trust Co raised its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for 1.0% of Providence First Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Providence First Trust Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Williamson Legacy Group LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 716 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 1,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $10,948,000. Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 946 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterway Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $979.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,003.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $980.92.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. Company 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.