5,643 Shares in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Acquired by Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $5,785,000. BlackRock makes up approximately 1.9% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $958.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,007.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $980.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Corporate 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.