Norden Group LLC Increases Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 652 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays reduced 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $965.18 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,002.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $983.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $149.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. 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 for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.