Stonegate Investment Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC decreased its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,123 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 299 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.9 %

BLK stock opened at $1,029.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,024.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $955.97.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value 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. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLK. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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 $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.