Berkshire Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Berkshire Bank lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,730 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 1.1% of Berkshire Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLK. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,251,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,029.63 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,082.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,024.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $955.97. 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 $159.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BLK. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.