Fayez Sarofim & Co Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 660,054 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 11,736 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up approximately 1.7% of Fayez Sarofim & Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned 0.43% of BlackRock worth $683,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK traded up $7.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $894.59. The stock had a trading volume of 553,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,053. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $924.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.94. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $748.02 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $138.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,077.08.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $12,838,649 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.