Edge Capital Group LLC Acquires 20 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 507 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in BlackRock by 75.9% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,448 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.8% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 781 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,945 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,332,000 after buying an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $951.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,009.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $979.66. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLK. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last three months. 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.