MSH Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,074 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,000. BlackRock comprises about 1.3% of MSH Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $889.21 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $937.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $987.19. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $138.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

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.