Cerity Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 121,403 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11,667 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $124,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $572,730,000. Amundi purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $343,976,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $822.38 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $968.78 and a 200-day moving average of $992.74. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective 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 eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,130.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.