Diversified LLC Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Diversified LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 264 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 77,524.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 641,955 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,211,390,000 after acquiring an additional 641,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 22.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,105,314 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,361,064,000 after acquiring an additional 379,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 84.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 744,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $481,486,000 after acquiring an additional 340,792 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 21.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,745,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,128,544,000 after buying an additional 307,516 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 24.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 713,771 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $461,446,000 after buying an additional 139,570 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $760.05 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $804.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $758.48. The stock has a market cap of $113.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $596.18 and a fifty-two week high of $845.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.93 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Marc D. Comerchero sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $785.11, for a total transaction of $353,299.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,975 shares in the company, valued at $4,691,032.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,511 shares of company stock worth $66,778,367 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 price target (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $845.42.

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.