Generate Investment Management Ltd Buys New Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,203 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $17,635,000. BlackRock accounts for approximately 1.2% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter worth $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of BLK opened at $1,005.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $155.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,025.55 and its 200-day moving average is $967.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 EPS 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 given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. 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.