BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Holdings Lowered by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,782 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 557 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises about 1.4% of Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in BlackRock were worth $29,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock traded up $8.51 on Friday, hitting $1,004.23. 1,079,196 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 610,586. The company has a market capitalization of $155.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,027.33 and its 200 day moving average is $946.18. 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,103.33.

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.