James Investment Research Inc. Sells 304 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

James Investment Research Inc. decreased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,187 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 304 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up approximately 1.0% of James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK traded up $0.77 on Wednesday, reaching $978.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,139. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,016.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $975.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 1.87 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) 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. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.