MCF Advisors LLC Has $511,000 Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 499 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, 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 own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.7 %

BLK opened at $1,011.87 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market cap of $156.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,026.34 and a 200 day moving average of $949.91.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 last year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.23 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.