Heritage Trust Co Makes New $1.22 Million Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,188 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,218,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $14.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $873.88. 170,677 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 681,716. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The company has a market cap of $135.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $937.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $987.19.

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BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current 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 is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Citigroup reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock 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 430 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.