BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stock Holdings Boosted by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 308.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in BlackRock by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,681,472,000 after acquiring an additional 42,757 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,577 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,663,330,000 after purchasing an additional 30,182 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after purchasing an additional 226,135 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,081,561,000 after buying an additional 40,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 89,389.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $993,312,000 after buying an additional 1,044,962 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $973.22 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,019.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $974.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market cap of $150.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last three months. 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.