Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $2.70 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 53.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,622 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $329,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $530,000. PCG Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $687,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,000. Finally, Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 11,579 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,870,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $979.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,003.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

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.