Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises approximately 2.3% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $16,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $115,000. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 1,287 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in BlackRock by 11.7% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,452 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $2.88 on Friday, reaching $750.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 401,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 624,154. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $596.18 and a 52-week high of $845.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $805.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $755.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 32.26%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total transaction of $5,085,660.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 11,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,366,142.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

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.