Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $136.41 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,068 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,265 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up approximately 1.0% of Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $136,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $572,730,000. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $343,976,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $920.27 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $752.30 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $914.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.54.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Company insiders own 1.98% 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.