Procyon Advisors LLC Raises Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 88.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 758 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,693,000. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $904,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,103.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $8.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,004.23. 1,079,196 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 610,586. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,027.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $947.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

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.