BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Stock Position Lowered by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 82.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 305 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in BlackRock were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,496,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK traded down $65.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $822.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,613,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,271. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $968.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $991.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

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. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share 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. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,130.85.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently 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.