RNC Capital Management LLC Buys 762 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

RNC Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 70,945 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 762 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up 2.8% of RNC Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $50,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carret Asset Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. First Community Trust NA lifted its position in BlackRock by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 90 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 10,744 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,613,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,349 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,320,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $636.71 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $503.12 and a 52-week high of $788.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.99 and a current ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $714.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $680.81.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 13th. The asset manager reported $8.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.99 by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 28.97%. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 34.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.00 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 6th. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 1,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.46, for a total transaction of $865,725.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,135 shares in the company, valued at $3,115,557.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 1,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.46, for a total transaction of $865,725.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,135 shares in the company, valued at $3,115,557.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 1,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $749.89, for a total transaction of $806,131.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,510,544.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,839 shares of company stock worth $3,578,947 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $820.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $741.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $821.00 to $813.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 15th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $540.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $785.00 to $828.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $740.92.

About BlackRock

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BlackRock, Inc engages in providing investment management, risk management, and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. Its products include single and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market instruments. The company was founded by Susan L.