Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Decreases Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,096 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for 2.1% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, 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 valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE BLK opened at $1,014.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,025.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $966.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

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.