Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 740 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 0.3% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,036.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $984.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $880.18. The firm has a market cap of $160.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $724.54 and a 12 month high of $1,068.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,019.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,000. This trade represents a 64.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.