Cerity Partners LLC Buys 1,359 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 133,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of BlackRock worth $126,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in BlackRock by 219.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 44,065 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,737,000 after buying an additional 30,274 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 62.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,804,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 20.8% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,036.46 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $984.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $879.49. The stock has a market cap of $160.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $724.54 and a 52-week high of $1,068.34. 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 Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.17 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This represents a 64.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,019.62.

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.