Bank of Montreal Can Buys 8,620 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,620 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $311,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $4.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $1,040.72. 67,956 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 573,168. The firm has a market cap of $161.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $984.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $880.90. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $724.54 and a 52 week high of $1,068.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,019.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

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

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.