Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Acquires 363 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,592 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $518,000. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,904,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $957.17 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $982.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $987.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

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.