LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI bought a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 215 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,070.08.

BlackRock Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $955.50 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,030.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $939.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The company has a market cap of $147.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.