Gries Financial LLC Has $552,000 Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Gries Financial LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 538 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings 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 worth $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,010,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $1,053.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $163.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,082.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,024.30 and a 200 day moving average of $958.99.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

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.