Chesapeake Wealth Management Sells 63 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Chesapeake Wealth Management trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,093 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,004.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,027.33 and its 200-day moving average is $948.40. The stock has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.35%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.