BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 77,524.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 641,955 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,211,390,000 after acquiring an additional 641,128 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,105,314 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,361,064,000 after buying an additional 379,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 744,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $481,486,000 after buying an additional 340,792 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in BlackRock by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,745,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,128,544,000 after acquiring an additional 307,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 24.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 713,771 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $461,446,000 after acquiring an additional 139,570 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock traded down $2.59 on Wednesday, reaching $778.33. 661,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 619,407. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $845.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $796.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $768.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 32.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,910,292.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 950 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $805.55, for a total value of $765,272.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,574,225.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 67,987 shares of company stock worth $55,353,400. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.