Ancora Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Ancora Advisors LLC reduced its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,688 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,640 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 93,275 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $95,617,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $88,000. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,371,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,415,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $928.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $916.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $981.14. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $752.30 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,077.08.

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.