Cynosure Group LLC Invests $353,000 in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 344 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $963.82 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $975.33 and its 200-day moving average is $992.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,126.92.

BlackRock Company 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.