BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stock Holdings Decreased by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lowered its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,215 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $951.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $147.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,009.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $979.66.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 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 paid a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.