Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 3,000 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 1.9% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,011.87 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,025.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $951.47. The company has a market cap of $156.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.23 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued 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 2.02%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.