FourThought Financial Partners LLC Sells 43 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC lessened its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,926 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for approximately 1.6% of FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE BLK opened at $951.45 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,009.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $147.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

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.