BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Acquired by Prana Capital Management LP

Prana Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 119,275 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 22,468 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 5.8% of Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $122,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,712,493,000 after buying an additional 68,405 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after purchasing an additional 93,844 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,072,787,000 after purchasing an additional 190,188 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,450,475,000 after purchasing an additional 26,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $2,356,357,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $965.81 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $913.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $978.07. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $752.30 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $149.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249 in the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company 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.