MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Reduces Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,830 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,026 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in BlackRock were worth $21,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $65,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value 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. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $8.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,004.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,079,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 610,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,027.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $948.40. The firm has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,103.33.

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.