Strategic Financial Services Inc. Has $3.69 Million Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,595 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. United Bank increased its position in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $334,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,681 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,403,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $956.47 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $981.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $987.59. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $148.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. 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 2.18%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.