Personal CFO Solutions LLC Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 911 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $934,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.2 %

BLK stock opened at $947.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $146.82 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $994.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $985.00. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

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.