Delta Financial Group Inc. Buys New Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 335 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.5 %

BlackRock stock opened at $974.97 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,011.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $978.98. 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 firm has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. 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 data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $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.