BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 71,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 14,773 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for about 2.8% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $73,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,681,472,000 after purchasing an additional 42,757 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,577 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,663,330,000 after buying an additional 30,182 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,244,608,000 after acquiring an additional 226,135 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,247 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,081,561,000 after acquiring an additional 40,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $993,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.4 %

BlackRock stock opened at $990.47 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,013.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $976.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share 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 boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average 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.