Swedbank AB Decreases Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Swedbank AB lowered its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 85,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 17,215 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $87,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $465,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in BlackRock by 4.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 474 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.3% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,089 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,432,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers National Bank increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.3% in the second quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,988,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,053.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,024.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $958.99. The company has a market capitalization of $163.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 48.57%.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.