Alberta Investment Management Corp Has $22.46 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 242.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,905 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 15,505 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in BlackRock were worth $22,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $766,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,527,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,108 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK traded down $14.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $974.97. 1,184,911 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 803,766. 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 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,013.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $976.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 business's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is 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.