Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 577 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,192 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $52,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $989.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $916.06 and its 200 day moving average is $978.06. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $752.30 and a 1 year 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, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

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.