Convergence Investment Partners LLC Purchases 2,188 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1,003.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BLK opened at $976.84 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,016.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $975.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. 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 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 firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

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.