BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $20,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $518,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,793,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,904,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 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, UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $912.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $990.09 and a 200-day moving average of $986.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change 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 presently 49.62%.

About BlackRock

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.