Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,347 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1,055.7% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,991 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,694,000 after purchasing an additional 10,040 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% during the third quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 944 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in BlackRock by 4.3% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 71,092 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $43,454,000 after acquiring an additional 2,917 shares during the period. Mitchell Capital Management Co. raised its position in BlackRock by 1.2% in the second quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 3,955 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank raised its position in BlackRock by 5.3% in the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,115 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK traded down $8.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $762.66. The stock had a trading volume of 427,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,111. The firm's 50 day moving average is $726.70 and its 200 day moving average is $679.58. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $503.12 and a twelve month high of $824.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 3.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.26.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 7th will be issued a $5.00 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $4.88. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 6th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $821.00 to $813.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 15th. UBS Group cut shares of BlackRock from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $700.00 to $585.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $741.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $495.00 to $481.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 14th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $540.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $738.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.58, for a total transaction of $10,009,468.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 549,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,500,654.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.58, for a total transaction of $10,009,468.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 549,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,500,654.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 3,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $773.41, for a total value of $3,054,969.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,433,997.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,084 shares of company stock worth $45,732,048 in the last three months. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Profile

(Get Rating)

BlackRock, Inc engages in providing investment management, risk management, and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. Its products include single and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market instruments. The company was founded by Ralph L.

Further Reading

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