Becker Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Becker Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,131 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,878 shares during the period. BlackRock accounts for 1.7% of Becker Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Becker Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $52,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $572,730,000. Amundi bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $343,976,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $920.81 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $919.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $982.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. 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 $748.78 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,077.08.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 22,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,963,649 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.

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