TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lessened its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,257 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,607 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $16,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $572,730,000. Amundi bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $343,976,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $855.56 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $927.95 and its 200 day moving average is $985.23. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $748.02 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $132.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.81 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. 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. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.