Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Purchases New Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 19,024 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $19,501,000. BlackRock accounts for about 2.4% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 100.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7 %

BLK stock opened at $973.22 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,019.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $973.49. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock 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.