Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Acquires 240 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,842 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sierra Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Disciplined Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 93.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NYSE:BLK opened at $666.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $582.58 and a twelve month high of $973.16. The company has a current ratio of 4.33, a quick ratio of 4.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $677.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $783.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 13th. The asset manager reported $9.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.92 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.20% and a return on equity of 17.00%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.77 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 38.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 6th will be issued a $4.88 dividend. This represents a $19.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 3rd. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.06%.

In other news, Director William E. Ford bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $701.00 per share, for a total transaction of $701,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,053,415. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William E. Ford bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $681.44 per share, with a total value of $1,362,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,915 shares in the company, valued at $10,163,677.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 14th. BNP Paribas cut BlackRock from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $873.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $865.00 to $803.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $869.47.

About BlackRock (Get Rating)

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.

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