Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Boosts Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $60,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s 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 value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $953.38 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,006.16 and its 200 day moving average is $980.19.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

BlackRock 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.