BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Buckingham Capital Management Inc.

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,178 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 629 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises 1.8% of Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7 %

BLK opened at $973.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,019.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $974.18.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 2.14%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.