BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,100.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,015.01 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,029.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $943.81.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

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.