GM Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 284 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. State Street Corp lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,681,472,000 after buying an additional 42,757 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,577 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,663,330,000 after acquiring an additional 30,182 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,244,608,000 after acquiring an additional 226,135 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,081,561,000 after purchasing an additional 40,865 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in BlackRock by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,102,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,130,330,000 after purchasing an additional 160,323 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $956.47 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $148.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $981.50 and its 200 day moving average is $987.59.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.