Sitrin Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Sitrin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,390 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up 2.8% of Sitrin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Sitrin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $958.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $148.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,007.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $980.38. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last three months. Company 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.