BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stock Position Lowered by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,151 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 16,186 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $321,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $822.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $127.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $968.78 and its 200 day moving average is $992.74.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,130.85.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.