Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 43 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lowered its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,334 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,010,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 20.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $988.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $153.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,024.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $971.03. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.