BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by DT Investment Partners LLC

DT Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 86 shares during the quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its stake in BlackRock by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in BlackRock by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,044,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 1,891 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,555,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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 research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $980.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,021.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.97. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 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 paid 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 an increase 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.