Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 67.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,029 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Chilton Investment Co. Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Westerkirk Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,877,000. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,201,000. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $700,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in BlackRock by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 256,937 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $269,591,000 after acquiring an additional 19,404 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in BlackRock by 6,347.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 42,234 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $49,239,000 after acquiring an additional 41,579 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total value of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,543 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,331.41. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,630,750. This represents a 24.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
BlackRock Price Performance
Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $922.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,075.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,092.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
BlackRock Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 64.71%.
Key BlackRock News
Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:
Analyst Ratings Changes
BLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of BlackRock from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $1,280.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,351.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,308.89.
View Our Latest Analysis on BLK
BlackRock Profile
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Free Report)
BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.
In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.
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