United Advisor Group LLC Buys New Shares in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 646 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $662,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:BLK traded down $9.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $971.54. The company had a trading volume of 367,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,455. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $921.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $976.43.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders 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 2.15%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.