BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,459 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,248 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,990,052,000 after acquiring an additional 292,017 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 11.1% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,354,236 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,630,127,000 after buying an additional 435,358 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,665,044 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,310,762,000 after buying an additional 46,728 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,197,274 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $942,640,000 after buying an additional 22,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 685,456 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $539,673,000 after buying an additional 17,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $991.46.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $4.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,007.02. The stock had a trading volume of 505,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,853. The company has a market capitalization of $149.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $1,032.00. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $915.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $837.50.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The company's revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.91 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.73 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other BlackRock news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,826,802.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,042 shares of company stock worth $56,857,777. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.