BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Buckhead Capital Management LLC

Buckhead Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 1.7% of Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 89,389.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $993,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044,962 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 104,468.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 792,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,526,120,000 after buying an additional 791,874 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $343,976,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $330,662,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,244,608,000 after acquiring an additional 226,135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $980.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,021.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.97. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.