BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by First Interstate Bank

First Interstate Bank cut its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 807 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $115,000. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 17.1% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 1,287 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,452 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded down $13.97 on Tuesday, hitting $749.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 662,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,959. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $808.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $754.48. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $845.00. The stock has a market cap of $111.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.93 EPS. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total transaction of $5,085,660.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 11,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,366,142.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares in the company, valued at $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 100,511 shares of company stock valued at $71,864,028. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 price target (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $811.43.

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.