Lau Associates continued to hold its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 850 shares of the company’s stock at the end of the fourth quarter. Lau Associates’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Capital Management raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 37.1% in the third quarter. Janus Capital Management now owns 538,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,105,000 after buying an additional 145,673 shares during the last quarter. TrimTabs Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $2,207,000. Community Bank & Trust of Waco, Texas purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $1,944,000. Park National purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $351,000. Finally, Jennison Associates raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates now owns 10,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,255,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter.

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) traded up 3.68% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $300.56. The company had a trading volume of 780,613 shares. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $275.00 and a 12 month high of $382.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $325.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.77 billion and a PE ratio of 15.19.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 15th. The company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $4.80 by $0.05. The company earned $2.86 billion during the quarter. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.82 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post $19.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $2.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 3rd. This represents a $9.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.18.

Several research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Piper Jaffray reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $365.00 price target (up previously from $357.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Argus reduced their price target on BlackRock from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Credit Suisse lifted their price target on BlackRock to $409.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Investment Research lowered BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Vetr upgraded BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $372.86 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.24.

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 42,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.56, for a total transaction of $15,303,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,204,130 shares in the company, valued at $430,548,722.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 116,069 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.95, for a total value of $39,109,449.55. Following the transaction, the president now owns 356,026 shares in the company, valued at $119,962,960.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

BlackRock, Inc. is an investment management firm. The Company provides investment and risk management services to institutional and retail clients across the world. Its product offerings include single- and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives and money market instruments. Products are offered directly and through intermediaries in a variety of vehicles, including open-end and closed-end mutual funds, iShares exchange-traded funds (NYSE:BLK), separate accounts, collective investment funds and other pooled investment vehicles. The Company also offers its BlackRock Solutions investment and risk management technology platform, Aladdin, risk analytics and advisory services and solutions. It has $4.65 trillion of assets under management at December 31, 2014.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:BLK

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