Windward Capital Management Co. CA Trims Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA decreased its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 39,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 327 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 3.1% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $40,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $1,017.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $157.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,026.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $965.17. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.