Convergence Investment Partners LLC Buys 2,188 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1,003.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,406 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,681,472,000 after acquiring an additional 42,757 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,577 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,663,330,000 after purchasing an additional 30,182 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 226,135 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,081,561,000 after buying an additional 40,865 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 89,389.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $993,312,000 after buying an additional 1,044,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $14.41 during midday trading 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 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 quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,013.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $976.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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 target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.