Baxter Bros Inc. Acquires 42 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Baxter Bros Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,123 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $964.28 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $980.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $989.75. The stock has a market cap of $149.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was 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 the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.