Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 43 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Harfst & Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,955 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for 0.6% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 874 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $298,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 691 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $4.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,007.02. The company had a trading volume of 505,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,853. The stock has a market cap of $149.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $596.18 and a one year high of $1,032.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $915.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $837.36. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.73 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.84%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,832,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,042 shares of company stock worth $56,857,777. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $995.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $991.46.

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.