Sanders Morris Harris LLC Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,046 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,536 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,675,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $492,000. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 292 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $998.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $154.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,029.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $943.81.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,100.50.

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.