Dakota Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,068 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management's holdings in BlackRock were worth $18,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. XML Financial LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 520 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,906 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $42,958,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $534,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 3,217 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $5.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,006.61. 570,283 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,651. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,025.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $951.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The company has a market capitalization of $155.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.