612 Shares in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Acquired by Focus Financial Network Inc.

Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 612 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $627,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,525,000. Powell Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $726,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 496 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $973.54 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,023.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.96. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $150.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.