Tenere Capital LLC Takes $14.42 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Tenere Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,186 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $14,419,000. BlackRock makes up 3.8% of Tenere Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 117,299 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $111,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,862 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,162,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,042.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,004.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $896.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $742.22 and a fifty-two week high of $1,068.34. The company has a market capitalization of $161.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.35%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.83, for a total transaction of $18,824,940.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,023,421.24. This trade represents a 67.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,190 shares of company stock valued at $113,161,681 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,019.62.

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.