BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Purchased by Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,662 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 2.0% of Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,605,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors boosted its position in BlackRock by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 428 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $958.29 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $148.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,007.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $980.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm 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 earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 48.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % 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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.