AdvisorNet Financial Inc Cuts Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 625 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,567,000. Marion Wealth Management lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 2,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,609,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 579 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 699 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $861,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, 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 transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 5.1 %

BLK opened at $1,012.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $156.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,029.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $943.81. 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 announced its earnings results 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,088.67.

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.