Sandy Spring Bank Sells 266 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Sandy Spring Bank trimmed its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,112 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 266 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 118,003 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $120,966,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $291,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in BlackRock by 268.7% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $265,000. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 5,490 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,628,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $956.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $981.50 and a 200-day moving average of $987.59. The company has a market cap of $148.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 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 the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

BlackRock 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.