BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Holdings Lowered by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,850 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $285,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $334,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,716,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $900.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $985.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $985.29. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $139.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company 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.