BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 208.3% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 671.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 54 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BLK traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $778.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 661,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 619,407. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $596.18 and a one year high of $845.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $796.34 and its 200-day moving average is $768.53. 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 company has a market cap of $115.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 32.26%. The business 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 earned $7.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total transaction of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $13,910,292.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,987 shares of company stock worth $55,353,400. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $930.00 target price (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen upgraded BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $845.42.

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.