Blue Chip Partners LLC Has $26.06 Million Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Blue Chip Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,421 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 2.2% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $26,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BLK. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $973.22 on Monday. 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 price is $1,019.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $974.18. The company has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 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 (NYSE:BLK) last announced its 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.57%.

BlackRock Company 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.