Williamson Legacy Group LLC Has $734,000 Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Williamson Legacy Group LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 716 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,292 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.2% during the third quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,525,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 4.1% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 761 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,057,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $979.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,003.74 and its 200-day moving average is $980.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 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.