Artemis Investment Management LLP Boosts Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,539 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 12,864 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in BlackRock were worth $40,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $65,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $8.51 on Friday, reaching $1,004.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,079,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 610,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,027.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $947.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,103.33.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.