Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 418 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 90.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 200 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 24.0% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 883 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in BlackRock by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 237,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $192,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 35.8% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,732 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 114,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $93,151,000 after buying an additional 56,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $902.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE BLK opened at $885.73 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $857.98 and a 200 day moving average of $814.50. The company has a market capitalization of $131.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. 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 $596.18 and a 1 year high of $903.46.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 51.84%.

BlackRock Company 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.