BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 84,728 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 572 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $68,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in BlackRock by 208.3% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 671.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 54 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK traded up $5.18 on Friday, hitting $762.83. 447,925 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 625,928. The company has a 50 day moving average of $802.70 and a 200-day moving average of $759.32. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $596.18 and a 12-month high of $845.00.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 price objective (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $845.42.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, insider Marc D. Comerchero sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $785.11, for a total transaction of $353,299.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,975 shares in the company, valued at $4,691,032.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Marc D. Comerchero sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $785.11, for a total value of $353,299.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,975 shares in the company, valued at $4,691,032.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 950 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $805.55, for a total transaction of $765,272.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $3,574,225.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,511 shares of company stock worth $66,778,367 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.