BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 900 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $967.48 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $149.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $998.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.77.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value 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 approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,620 shares of company stock valued at $59,085,750. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

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.