Red Cedar Investment Management LLC Invests $1.89 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 4.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,044,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 50.0% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 816 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 7.9% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 29,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,858,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $973.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,020.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $972.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business 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 2.14%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. Evercore ISI increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.