Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 428 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $528,792,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $343,976,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $330,662,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $887.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $972.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $992.16. 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 cap of $137.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Saturday, March 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,130.85.

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.