Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 4,982 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC cut its BlackRock stake by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,982 shares and leaving it with 12,857 shares worth about $13.76 million.
• BlackRock reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 versus estimates of $12.40 and revenue of $6.70 billion versus $6.56 billion expected; revenue rose 27% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on BLK, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of about $1,269, even as some firms adjusted targets up or down.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC reduced its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,857 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,982 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up about 0.8% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $13,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. CICC Research upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,269.06.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,073.03 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $166.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's fifty day moving average is $1,018.09 and its 200 day moving average is $1,053.88. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $917.39 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. BlackRock's revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.91, for a total transaction of $417,690.35. Following the sale, the director owned 3,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,618,174.85. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 45,024 shares of company stock valued at $47,431,063 over the last 90 days. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.

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