MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 2,219 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,575 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 2,219 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $39,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock 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 sale, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded up $7.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $894.59. 553,053 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 685,051. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $926.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $984.56. The company has a market cap of $138.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $748.02 and a one year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share 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 is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

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.