BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stake Lifted by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,983 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in BlackRock by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in BlackRock by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in BlackRock by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 39,539 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,532,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864 shares during the period. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,284,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BLK shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $989.39 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $153.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $916.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $978.08. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

BlackRock 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.