Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Lowers Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,016 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,412 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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 lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,011.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,026.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $949.91.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

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.