Wright Investors Service Inc. Reduces Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,837 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 610 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,037,009,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 104,159.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 697,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $494,269,000 after buying an additional 696,830 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 77,524.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 641,955 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,211,390,000 after purchasing an additional 641,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 22.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,105,314 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,361,064,000 after purchasing an additional 379,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 84.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 744,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $481,486,000 after purchasing an additional 340,792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total transaction of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 100,511 shares of company stock worth $71,864,028. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $5.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $759.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 130,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,591. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $845.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $806.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $755.19.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.