Metis Global Partners LLC Decreases Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,689 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 477 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in BlackRock by 208.3% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 671.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 54 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $805.55, for a total value of $765,272.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,574,225.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $784.69, for a total value of $408,038.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,150 shares in the company, valued at $3,256,463.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $805.55, for a total transaction of $765,272.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $3,574,225.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,057 shares of company stock worth $58,575,704 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded up $6.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $763.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 558,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,289. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $797.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $766.29. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $596.18 and a twelve month high of $845.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The firm has a market cap of $113.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 32.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 target price (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note 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, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen raised shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $845.42.

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.