BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,603 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $950.43 on Monday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $980.77 and its 200-day moving average is $989.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BLK. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

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.