Morningstar Investment Services LLC Has $40.89 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,806 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 968 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $40,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horan Securities Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 38 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its position in BlackRock by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 42 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 275.0% in the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 45 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 168.1% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 47 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $868.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $760.00 to $740.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $763.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $800.00 to $779.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $829.00 to $861.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $755.92.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $11.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $671.59. The company had a trading volume of 159,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,288. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $503.12 and a 52 week high of $785.65. The firm has a market cap of $100.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 4.20, a current ratio of 4.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $658.93 and a 200-day moving average of $695.99.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $7.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.71 by $0.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 28.13% and a return on equity of 13.66%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 34.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 8th will be paid a $5.00 dividend. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 62.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 35,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $694.50, for a total value of $24,862,405.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,363,712.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.00, for a total transaction of $2,088,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 71,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,629,672. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 35,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $694.50, for a total transaction of $24,862,405.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,363,712.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,374 shares of company stock worth $27,346,615. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About BlackRock

(Get Rating)

BlackRock, Inc engages in providing investment management, risk management, and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. Its products include single and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market instruments. The company was founded by Susan L.