Argent Advisors Inc. Has $1.25 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Argent Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Architects LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. SouthState Corp raised its holdings in BlackRock by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Addison Capital Co raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 3,405 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,490,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gray Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $397,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $957.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The company has a market capitalization of $148.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $982.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $987.43. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently 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.