Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 856 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BLK. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $766,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth $229,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,527,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Waterway Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.0% in the third quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 14.0% in the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,108 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

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 value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value 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. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on 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, Citigroup lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE BLK opened at $976.84 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,017.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $974.94. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $151.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly 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 business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

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.