Flossbach Von Storch AG Boosts Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,827 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,308 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up about 1.2% of Flossbach Von Storch AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Flossbach Von Storch AG owned about 0.23% of BlackRock worth $272,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in BlackRock by 208.3% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 671.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 54 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded up $4.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $753.75. The stock had a trading volume of 585,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,427. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $806.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $755.19. The firm has a market cap of $112.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $596.18 and a 52 week high of $845.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total transaction of $5,085,660.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 11,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,366,142.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total value of $5,085,660.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 11,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,366,142.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 100,511 shares of company stock valued at $71,864,028. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BLK. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $930.00 target price (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $811.43.

BlackRock 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.