SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,201 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,979 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $23,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,006.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,025.85 and a 200-day moving average of $951.47. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.