Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $90.82 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,691 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up about 1.3% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of BlackRock worth $90,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $979.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,003.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $981.81. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $5.21 per share. 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 2.13%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

BlackRock 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.