BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Position Increased by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 263,828 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 13,344 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 5.1% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned about 0.17% of BlackRock worth $270,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 89,389.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $993,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044,962 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,468.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 792,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,526,120,000 after buying an additional 791,874 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,662,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after buying an additional 226,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $115,377,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.9 %

BlackRock stock traded up $8.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $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 P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,027.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $948.40. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,103.33.

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.