Liberty Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,382,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 131 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $694,000. 17 Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 9,189 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $757,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $991.95 on Monday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $153.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,024.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $968.98.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on BLK shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

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.