Savant Capital LLC Increases Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,341 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in BlackRock by 1.6% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,892 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 11.0% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 282 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 36.1% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP raised its position in BlackRock by 1.4% during the third quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP now owns 2,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 85.2% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 313 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $985.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,024.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. 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. Barclays cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.