United Bank Increases Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

United Bank raised its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $947.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The stock has a market cap of $147.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $978.66 and a 200-day moving average of $991.44.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. 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 yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

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.