Swedbank AB Lowers Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Swedbank AB trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,541 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 17,215 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.06% of BlackRock worth $87,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $17.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1,070.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 169,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 770,842. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,024.87 and a 200 day moving average of $959.65. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,082.45. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

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.