BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 55.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $928.74 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $983.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $986.30. The company has a market cap of $144.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. 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 (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion during 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. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

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.