Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Sells 29 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC cut its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 275 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $875.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $932.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $985.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $135.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BLK. UBS Group decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% 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.