Delta Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 335 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays decreased 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 reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE BLK opened at $974.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,011.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $978.98. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

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.