Leisure Capital Management Sells 31 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Leisure Capital Management trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,462 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.3% during the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 3.5% in the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,075.83 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,026.43 and a 200-day moving average of $963.86. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 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 market capitalization of $166.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.