BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co cut its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 442 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up approximately 0.9% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $24,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 473 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. TD Cowen increased their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Argus lifted their target price on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $995.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total transaction of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,042 shares of company stock valued at $56,857,777. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded up $5.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $988.66. 73,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 568,779. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $933.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $847.45. The stock has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $604.41 and a fifty-two week high of $1,032.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.91 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.