BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,120 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 334 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 450 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $778.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $796.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $768.53. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $596.18 and a 52-week high of $845.00. The firm has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

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

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.