BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stock Holdings Increased by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 308.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,105 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 2,344 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $14.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $974.97. 1,253,611 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 821,976. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,011.61 and a 200-day moving average of $977.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

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.