Alberta Investment Management Corp Increases Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLKFree Report) by 317.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,400 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $17,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

BLK stock opened at $1,051.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $163.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $917.39 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,046.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,051.90.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLKGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,368.00 to $1,393.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BlackRock from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,264.61.

Read Our Latest Research Report on BlackRock

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock (NYSE:BLKFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

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