BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stake Boosted by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,798 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,769 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $14,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company’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 approximately $3,531,656.40. This 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 accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $950.43 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $980.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $987.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 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.