First National Corp MA ADV Sells 20 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

First National Corp MA ADV lessened its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. First National Corp MA ADV’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $991.95 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,024.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $968.98. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Company 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.