BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Berkshire Bank

Berkshire Bank lowered its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,730 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up about 1.1% of Berkshire Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,029.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,024.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $955.97. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

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.