Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 4,210 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $67,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLK. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $947.96 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $994.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $985.86. The company has a market cap of $146.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.