Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $8.16 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,959 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $991.95 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,025.55 and its 200-day moving average is $967.09. The firm has a market cap of $153.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 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. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.