Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 164 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,973 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $958.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $912.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $978.29.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BLK. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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, January 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,077.08.

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.