BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Buckingham Capital Management Inc.

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,178 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 629 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for about 1.8% of Buckingham Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 89,389.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $993,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044,962 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 104,468.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 792,632 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,526,120,000 after purchasing an additional 791,874 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $343,976,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $330,662,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after purchasing an additional 226,135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $14.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $974.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,253,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,976. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,011.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $977.04. The company has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment 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, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.