Fmr LLC Increases Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

FMR LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 26,485 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 1.54% of BlackRock worth $2,450,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,311,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,496,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE BLK traded down $36.04 on Thursday, hitting $861.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 706,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,571. The firm has a market cap of $133.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $947.97 and its 200 day moving average is $988.95. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22.

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 (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $950.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,099.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.