BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Haverford Financial Services Inc.

Haverford Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,861 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up about 4.3% of Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $14,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $950.43 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $980.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $988.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays cut 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. UBS Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

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.