First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Has $19.95 Million Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises 4.1% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $19,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $985.24 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,024.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $969.98. 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 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $152.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 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.