Compass Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Compass Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 17 shares during the quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE BLK opened at $1,020.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,024.23 and its 200-day moving average is $953.90. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market cap of $158.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 a total of 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Company 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.