Manchester Capital Management LLC Sells 708 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Manchester Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 873 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 708 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.3 %

BlackRock stock traded up $2.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $976.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,048,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,720. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,017.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $974.94. The company has a market capitalization of $151.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for 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%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % 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 worth $115,163,141 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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. Citigroup increased their target price 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. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.