BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Catalyst Financial Partners LLC

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 833 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in BlackRock by 4.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 1,891 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,555,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $980.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,021.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $971.97. 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 $151.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business 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 $5.21 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About BlackRock

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.