Kera Capital Partners Inc. Makes New $4.44 Million Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,326 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,435,000. BlackRock accounts for about 1.3% of Kera Capital Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,103.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $8.51 on Friday, hitting $1,004.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,079,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 610,586. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1,027.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $947.28. The stock has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

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.