BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Bought by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $46,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $518,000. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in BlackRock by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,793,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in BlackRock by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,038,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $944.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $146.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $976.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $993.09. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BLK. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

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.