BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Acquired by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,137 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,528 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $14.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $974.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,253,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,976. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The company has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,013.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $976.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Company Profile

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.