Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 43.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,297 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three investment 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BLK stock traded up $4.58 on Tuesday, hitting $998.24. The stock had a trading volume of 536,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,129. The company's 50 day moving average price is $919.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $978.24. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $752.30 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

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.