NewEdge Wealth LLC Sells 2,160 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,746 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $944.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,004.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $979.94. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.