Freedom Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 705 BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 705 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $572,730,000. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,976,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $7.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $894.59. The company had a trading volume of 553,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,158. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $138.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $748.02 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $926.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $984.56.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.