Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,726 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. BlackRock accounts for about 1.8% of Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $20,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $528,792,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $343,976,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $330,662,000. Finally, National Pension Service purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $322,097,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $928.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $983.61 and a 200 day moving average of $986.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.