GSB Wealth Management LLC Invests $207,000 in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

GSB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 202 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 176.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 78,797 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,026,000 after purchasing an additional 50,342 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 4.5% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 114,596 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $90,224,000 after buying an additional 4,917 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $716,000. Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $488,000. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 16.2% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 388 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,020.19 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,024.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $953.90. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,082.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $158.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, 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 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741 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.