BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc.

Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 260 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 16 shares during the period. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $518,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,793,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE BLK opened at $954.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $980.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $987.36. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $148.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

BlackRock 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.