BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stock Holdings Decreased by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,950 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $61,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three 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, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $965.18 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $149.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,002.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $983.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. 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 49.62%.

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.