Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. Invests $5.79 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,643 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $5,785,000. BlackRock comprises about 1.9% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $32,904,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,432,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. Citigroup raised 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $34.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $979.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,412,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,890. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $1,003.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $980.92. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's payout ratio is 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.