Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Reduces Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI cut its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,027 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in BlackRock by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 41,771 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 18,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,461,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 628 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $965.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,002.25 and its 200-day moving average is $983.33. The stock has a market cap of $149.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

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.