BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 360 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $518,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,904,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $954.11 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. 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 stock has a market cap of $148.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $980.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $987.36.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

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.