BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 168.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,109 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 81.5% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,020.34 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $994.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $888.81. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $742.22 and a twelve month high of $1,068.34. The company has a market capitalization of $158.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,019.62.

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.