Crews Bank & Trust Invests $1.60 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,564 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,603,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in 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 during the period. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.5% in the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,829,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on BLK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Barclays lowered their price target 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 objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $18.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1,070.81. 532,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 790,250. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1,024.87 and its 200-day moving average is $959.65. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market cap of $165.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.57%.

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.