Cozad Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 211 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $957.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The company has a market capitalization of $148.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $982.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $987.81. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Citigroup upped 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.