BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Position Cut by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $21,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in BlackRock by 208.3% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 671.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 54 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 target price (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.42.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $4.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $762.51. 751,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 629,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $803.50 and its 200 day moving average is $759.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $596.18 and a one year high of $845.00.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.93 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $793.86, for a total value of $2,460,966.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,849,424.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $793.86, for a total transaction of $2,460,966.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,849,424.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc D. Comerchero sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $785.11, for a total transaction of $353,299.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,691,032.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,511 shares of company stock valued at $66,778,367 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.