Sei Investments Co. Lowers Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Sei Investments Co. decreased its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 47,111 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,178 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $48,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Noesis Capital Mangement Corp boosted its stake in BlackRock by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 1,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $950.43 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $980.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $989.13. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS 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 $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.