Continuum Advisory LLC Invests $671,000 in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 655 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,712,493,000 after buying an additional 68,405 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after buying an additional 93,844 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,072,787,000 after purchasing an additional 190,188 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,450,475,000 after buying an additional 26,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $2,356,357,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $13.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $976.58. 137,913 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 691,735. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day moving average price is $921.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $976.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $752.30 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. 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 earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.63%.

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.