MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,064 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $972.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $150.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $920.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $978.19.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

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.