Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 61,186 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $58,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.5% in the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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 increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,019.62.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,019.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $991.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $885.16. The stock has a market cap of $157.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $725.86 and a 12 month high of $1,068.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.91 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,000. The trade was a 64.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.