DMC Group LLC Has $2.09 Million Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

DMC Group LLC grew its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,037 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up approximately 1.7% of DMC Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. DMC Group LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $1,059,000. Gries Financial LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 538 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 3,747 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,841,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in BlackRock by 113.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 365 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This 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 available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded up $18.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,070.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 516,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 789,360. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $165.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,024.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $959.65.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 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. Shareholders 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. 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%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.