Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 5,153 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,979 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,153 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $42,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $723,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,551 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $883,000. Capital International Ltd. CA boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 7,847 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,044,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 488 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $875.86 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $930.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $985.65. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $748.02 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.38%. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 3,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,077.08.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.