Wesbanco Bank Inc. Reduces Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. trimmed its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLKFree Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 19 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BlackRock

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,006.61 on Thursday. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,082.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,025.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $951.47. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $155.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLKGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

BlackRock Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

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