Bradyco Inc. Invests $414,000 in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Bradyco Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 404 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on BLK shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $959.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $996.52 and a 200-day moving average of $983.60. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $148.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

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

About BlackRock

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.