Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Trims Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $13,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $947.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $147.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $978.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $990.69.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 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 upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 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.