Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 1,344 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,604 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 1,344 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $912.43 on Wednesday. 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's fifty day moving average is $990.09 and its 200 day moving average is $986.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

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BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's payout ratio is 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock 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.

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