Ascent Group LLC Has $2.67 Million Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,605 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 401.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after buying an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 633,779 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $572,730,000. Finally, Amundi acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $528,792,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of BLK traded down $9.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $971.54. 367,052 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 693,455. The company has a market cap of $150.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $752.30 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $921.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $976.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

About BlackRock

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.