Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Invests $19.50 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 19,024 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $19,501,000. BlackRock accounts for 2.4% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $4.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $990.47. 768,915 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 808,873. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,014.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $975.94. The stock has a market cap of $153.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. 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 released 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 analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. 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 currently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.