Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,133 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,187,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $958.29 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,007.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $980.38. The firm has a market cap of $148.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.