Farther Finance Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,292 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $528,792,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,976,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,662,000. Finally, National Pension Service purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $322,097,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $909.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $987.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $985.88. The company has a market capitalization of $141.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.