Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,673 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at BlackRock
In other BlackRock 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.
BlackRock Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $21.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $866.65. 591,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 938,862. The stock has a market cap of $134.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $937.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $987.19. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business 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 business earned $9.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.
BlackRock Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.
Get Our Latest Research Report on BLK
BlackRock Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider BlackRock, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and BlackRock wasn't on the list.
While BlackRock currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
