BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,950 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $61,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $965.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,002.25 and a 200 day moving average of $983.33. The company has a market capitalization of $149.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors 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 2.16%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.