BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Albion Financial Group UT

Albion Financial Group UT trimmed its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,355 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % 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 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,011.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $156.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,025.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $951.47. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.