American Trust Sells 874 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

American Trust trimmed its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,530 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 874 shares during the quarter. American Trust's holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 55.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,958 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,496,000 after buying an additional 10,284 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 6.6% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 1,140 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 36.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 7,429 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,054,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,794,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 48.2% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,283,000 after buying an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.2 %

BLK stock traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,056.54. The stock had a trading volume of 537,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,539. The firm has a market cap of $163.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,013.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $902.97.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm 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 business earned $10.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,039.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.83, for a total transaction of $18,824,940.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,023,421.24. The trade was a 67.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 108,190 shares of company stock worth $113,161,681. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

About BlackRock

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.