Blue Chip Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Blue Chip Partners LLC reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,421 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 311 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for about 2.2% of Blue Chip Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $26,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:BLK traded up $4.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $990.47. The stock had a trading volume of 768,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,873. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $153.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,014.60 and a 200 day moving average of $975.94. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.