Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 344 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLK. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 34,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $460,000. BSW Wealth Partners increased its holdings in BlackRock by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 231 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospect Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $501,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,053.50 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45. The company has a market capitalization of $163.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,024.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $958.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.