YANKCOM Partnership Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 81 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $83,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $55,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in BlackRock by 30.9% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 927 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 24.0% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 326 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $114,000. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.4% during the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,005.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $155.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,025.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $966.82. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders 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 represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.