BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stake Lessened by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co trimmed its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,270 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,849 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in BlackRock by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,010,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:BLK traded down $19.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $993.36. The stock had a trading volume of 330,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,345. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,031.46 and its 200 day moving average is $936.16. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,082.45. The stock has a market cap of $153.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.05%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,070.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the 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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock 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.