BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Position Lifted by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,517 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,681,472,000 after purchasing an additional 42,757 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,577 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,663,330,000 after buying an additional 30,182 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% during the third 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,081,561,000 after acquiring an additional 40,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in BlackRock by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,102,643 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,130,330,000 after acquiring an additional 160,323 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

BlackRock Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE BLK traded up $11.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $974.69. The company had a trading volume of 566,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,101. The firm's 50 day moving average is $980.97 and its 200 day moving average is $989.75. The company has a market capitalization of $151.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BLK. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.