E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB trimmed its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,622 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up 1.0% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $44,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,180.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,316.18.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,088.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,073.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,094.95. The company has a market capitalization of $168.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.47.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.59%.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.