BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 43.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 507 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded down $14.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $974.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,253,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,976. The stock has a market cap 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,011.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $977.04. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business'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 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 $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BLK. Citigroup lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock 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.