Redmond Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Redmond Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 57 shares during the quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $974.97 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,011.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $977.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. 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 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, February 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given 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 $1,120.67.

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.