BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 172,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,634 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $176,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $855.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. 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 $927.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $985.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $748.02 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $5.21 dividend. 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 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,077.08.

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.