Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 6,268 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.07% of BlackRock worth $115,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLK. Citigroup boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $947.96 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $994.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $984.14. The company has a market cap of $146.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

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.