Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.20 Million Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 7,959 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,159,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Arlington Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $4,853,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,824 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,945,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BLK opened at $980.48 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 company has a market cap of $151.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,021.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.97. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. 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 research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.