BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 98,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 779 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $101,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.5 %

BLK stock opened at $1,006.61 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,025.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $951.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market cap of $155.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.