Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. Sells 62 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. lessened its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,506 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up about 1.5% of Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,824 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,945,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,740,000. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,635,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $270,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $991.95 on Friday. 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. The company has a market cap of $153.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,025.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $967.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.