Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 177 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,122 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $30,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $955.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,030.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $940.27. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,082.45.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,070.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value 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 $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.