BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Acquired by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $29,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,448 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 781 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,945 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,332,000 after buying an additional 1,681 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $951.45 on Tuesday. 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 $147.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,009.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $979.66. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 48.57%.

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.