BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Bought by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 242.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,905 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,505 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $22,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $766,000. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,527,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Waterway Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Ledyard National Bank grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,108 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $976.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,016.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $975.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. 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 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.