Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $215,000 Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 244.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BLK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in BlackRock by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 397,641 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $313,063,000 after purchasing an additional 20,692 shares in the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 324 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 325.9% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,266 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $383,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $962.75 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,029.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $943.81. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45. The company has a market capitalization of $149.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 50.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,088.67.

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.