BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC

Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $518,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,432,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $32,904,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $928.74 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $983.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $986.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

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.