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

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $5,785,000. BlackRock comprises about 1.9% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $958.29 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $148.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,007.50 and a 200 day moving average of $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 (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

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.