AIA Group Ltd Cuts Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

AIA Group Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE BLK opened at $947.48 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $978.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $992.24. 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 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.