Bath Savings Trust Co Cuts Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Bath Savings Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 3.5% during the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $979.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,031.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $937.51. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,082.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,070.08.

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.