Simmons Bank Has $357,000 Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Simmons Bank decreased its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 348 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $944.49 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,004.72 and its 200 day moving average is $979.94. The firm has a market cap of $146.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.90 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, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company 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%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company 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 stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.