BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Elk River Wealth Management LLC

Elk River Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,342 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Elk River Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $987.08 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $152.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,014.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $975.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on 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 objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

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.