Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Makes New $29.31 Million Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 28,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $29,309,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $928.74 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $144.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $983.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $986.30. 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 data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

BlackRock 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.