Marshall Wace LLP Trims Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 84.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,313 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 118,060 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in BlackRock were worth $21,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $572,730,000. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $343,976,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $7.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $894.59. 553,053 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 684,158. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $748.02 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $926.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $984.56. The company has a market capitalization of $138.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut 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 began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

BlackRock 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.