Flossbach Von Storch SE Trims Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lowered its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 197,071 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 26,113 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned about 0.13% of BlackRock worth $202,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 996 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,427,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,603,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $987.08 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $152.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,014.60 and its 200-day moving average is $975.94. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. 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.