BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,073,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 18,654 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.72% of BlackRock worth $1,018,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 89,389.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $993,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044,962 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 104,468.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 792,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,526,120,000 after purchasing an additional 791,874 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $115,377,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 174.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 184,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,096,000 after buying an additional 117,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $86,282,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BLK opened at $1,024.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $718.72 and a 1-year high of $1,068.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $978.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $876.59.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.17 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BLK. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,019.62.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’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 value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The trade was a 64.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock 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.