Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 132 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

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

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $953.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,006.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $980.19. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $147.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders 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 a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

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.