DMC Group LLC Grows Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

DMC Group LLC raised its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,037 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up about 1.7% of DMC Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. DMC Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $1,059,000. Gries Financial LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 3,747 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,841,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in BlackRock by 113.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,053.50 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,024.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $958.99. The company has a market capitalization of $163.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors 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 yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.