Aureus Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Aureus Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 12.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 827 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,022.80 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $994.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $888.81. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $742.22 and a 12-month high of $1,068.34. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $158.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,019.62.

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.