BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Bought by SYM FINANCIAL Corp

SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 393 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,075.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,026.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $962.18. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 dividend yield of 1.94%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $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.