Stratos Investment Management LLC Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Stratos Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,614 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,655,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE BLK opened at $1,017.12 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,026.10 and its 200 day moving average is $965.17.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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 issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.