Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 1,488 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 50.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,433 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,488 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BLK. Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 88.6% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 758 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,676 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,994,000 after buying an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co boosted its position in BlackRock by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 4,384 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,494,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $989.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $153.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $916.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $978.06. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.