Capital International Inc. CA Acquires 10,798 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Capital International Inc. CA grew its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 36.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,798 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $41,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $875.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $930.31 and its 200-day moving average is $985.45. The stock has a market cap of $135.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,077.08.

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.