Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $889.21 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $937.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $987.19. The company has a market capitalization of $138.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.