1,130 Shares in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Acquired by Postrock Partners LLC

Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,130 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Renasant Bank raised its position in BlackRock by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 288 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,835,000. Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,842,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 48,331 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $900.50 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $985.45 and its 200-day moving average is $985.29. 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 capitalization of $139.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 2.31%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.