BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Holdings Lowered by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,950 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded down $3.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $1,017.48. The stock had a trading volume of 200,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,772. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,030.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $934.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 research note on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,063.00.

About BlackRock

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.