Synovus Financial Corp Reduces Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,682 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.9% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 117,299 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $111,377,000 after buying an additional 2,208 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK opened at $1,056.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,015.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $904.88. The firm has a market cap of $163.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,039.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.83, for a total value of $18,824,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,023,421.24. This trade represents a 67.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,190 shares of company stock valued at $113,161,681 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.