Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $35.71 Million Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1,431.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,585 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,131 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after buying an additional 226,135 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,081,561,000 after purchasing an additional 40,865 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,665,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,310,762,000 after purchasing an additional 46,728 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,197,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $942,640,000 after purchasing an additional 22,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 89,389.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $993,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BLK opened at $1,022.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $994.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $888.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market cap of $158.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $742.22 and a 52 week high of $1,068.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,019.62.

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.