Tranquility Partners LLC Trims Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Tranquility Partners LLC decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 986 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 21 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 0.3% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $973.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,023.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $971.96. The company has a market capitalization of $150.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

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.