Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 1,900 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,912 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $29,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 94.1% in the third quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,064.31 on Monday. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $906.57 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,007.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,059.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total transaction of $58,920,245.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 51,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,971,514.62. This represents a 51.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total transaction of $2,339,962.73. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,331.41. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 106,911 shares of company stock valued at $114,670,698 in the last three months. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Barclays upped their price target 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. CICC Research upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,269.06.

About BlackRock

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.