Capital International Investors Acquires 176,790 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,498,357 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 176,790 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 0.97% of BlackRock worth $1,536,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.3 %

BlackRock stock traded down $20.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $855.56. 644,431 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 684,748. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $748.02 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $930.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $985.89. 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 market cap of $132.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.