Centaurus Financial Inc. Invests $1.17 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,145 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,174,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in BlackRock by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in BlackRock by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,793,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in BlackRock by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $46,284,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $15,307,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE BLK traded up $4.86 on Tuesday, reaching $982.93. The company had a trading volume of 495,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,558. The stock's 50 day moving average is $922.81 and its 200-day moving average is $974.15. The stock has a market cap of $152.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $752.30 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

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 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 business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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 $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Barclays upped their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.