BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 850 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $974.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,011.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $978.98. The stock has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday, February 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.