Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 332 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 28.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 819 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 332 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in BlackRock were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $66,000. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,312,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $22.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $876.16. 88,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 682,408. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $748.02 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $927.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $985.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The company has a market cap of $136.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued 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 price target of $1,077.08.

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.