BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Acquired by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,710 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $493,000. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $337,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $7,433,000. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 945 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,004.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,082.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,027.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $948.40.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm 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 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company’s quarterly 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 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.