Evoke Wealth LLC Has $582,000 Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Evoke Wealth LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 567 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank grew its position in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $334,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its position in BlackRock by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its position in BlackRock by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 2,805 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.1 %

BLK opened at $957.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $982.08 and a 200 day moving average of $987.81. The company has a market cap of $148.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.