Garner Asset Management Corp Buys 700 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,412 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for about 1.6% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $572,730,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $343,976,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $950.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,096.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $879.39 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $136.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $942.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $987.97. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

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.