Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires 435 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 116.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 807 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 19,564 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,055,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 58,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $60,262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 19,506 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,996,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 783 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $944.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,004.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $979.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.