Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Invests $279,000 in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 272 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.2 %

BLK stock traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,020.19. 667,159 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 790,882. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1,024.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $952.31. The company has a market cap of $158.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company 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 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.