BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLKFree Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $36,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $985,331,000 after purchasing an additional 7,457 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in BlackRock by 6,347.9% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 42,234 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,239,000 after buying an additional 41,579 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion increased its holdings in BlackRock by 51.5% in the third quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,299,000 after buying an additional 7,773 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in BlackRock by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 251,856 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $269,572,000 after buying an additional 24,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 8.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 360,995 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $420,873,000 after buying an additional 29,449 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of BLK opened at $996.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,033.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,051.36. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $154.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLKGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. 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 report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,269.06.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on BLK

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

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