Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 918 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. decreased its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 918 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the fourth 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 stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $572,730,000. Amundi bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,976,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.3 %

BlackRock stock opened at $928.47 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $752.30 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $916.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.14. The company has a market capitalization of $144.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock 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.