Capital International Sarl Grows Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Capital International Sarl boosted its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,302 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl's holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $518,000. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,793,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in BlackRock by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 39,539 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,532,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $8.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $896.19. 256,811 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 683,042. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $748.02 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $139.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $926.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $984.56. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BLK. Citigroup cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company 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.