Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 44,380 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $45,618,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Bank grew its position in BlackRock by 1.1% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 21.9% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,192 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in BlackRock by 7.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 373,505 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $354,647,000 after purchasing an additional 25,755 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $822.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $968.78 and a 200-day moving average of $991.65. 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 twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $127.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,130.85.

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.