Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC Decreases Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for about 1.2% of Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 11,579 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,870,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,932,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $731,000. Providence First Trust Co grew its stake in BlackRock by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Providence First Trust Co now owns 2,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,786,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Williamson Legacy Group LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 716 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. 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 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of BLK opened at $979.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,003.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $980.92. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

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.