BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC

Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $875.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $932.56 and a 200-day moving average of $985.86. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $135.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for 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%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.