Argent Trust Co Grows Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,893 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in BlackRock by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 71,474 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $73,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 706 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 94,439 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $96,811,000 after buying an additional 4,399 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded down $31.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $865.43. The company had a trading volume of 42,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,134. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market cap of $134.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $947.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $988.95.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $950.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,099.62.

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.