Strategy Asset Managers LLC Trims Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lessened its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 605 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,712,493,000 after buying an additional 68,405 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,681,472,000 after acquiring an additional 42,757 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,577 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,663,330,000 after purchasing an additional 30,182 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $2,356,357,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,102,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,130,330,000 after purchasing an additional 160,323 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $947.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $978.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $990.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.