Texas Bank & Trust Co Acquires Shares of 1,827 BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Texas Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,827 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $572,730,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $343,976,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $989.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $916.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $978.06. The company has a market capitalization of $153.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

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.