BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,016 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,412 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its position 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 valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,251,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of BlackRock stock traded down $5.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,006.61. The stock had a trading volume of 570,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,651. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,082.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,025.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $951.47. The firm has a market cap of $155.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. 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 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 48.57%.

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.