Blue Square Asset Management LLC Invests $3.24 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Blue Square Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,164 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,243,000. BlackRock accounts for 1.6% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,020.19 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $158.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,024.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $953.90. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 48.57%.

BlackRock Profile

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.