Vantage Wealth Has $23.44 Million Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Vantage Wealth lessened its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,246 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 5.0% of Vantage Wealth’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Vantage Wealth’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $23,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,020.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $158.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,082.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,024.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $953.90. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

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.