Wedmont Private Capital Buys 195 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,066 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,044 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,719,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 11,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $2,267,000. Finally, Concentric Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $956.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $142.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $596.18 and a 52-week high of $962.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $893.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $828.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.37 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on BlackRock from $945.00 to $995.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $948.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other BlackRock news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,826,802.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.