BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Acquired by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,712 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $912.43 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $141.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $990.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $986.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 2.28%. BlackRock's dividend 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.

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