CenterBook Partners LP Buys New Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,731 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,774,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,099.62.

BlackRock Stock Down 4.5 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $856.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $944.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $988.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $133.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. 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 posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.