Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,865 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.48% of BlackRock worth $2,081,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,036.46 on Monday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $724.54 and a one year high of $1,068.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $984.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $880.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,019.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total transaction of $10,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,000. The trade was a 64.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.