Cigna Investments Inc. New Sells 12 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Cigna Investments Inc. New lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,512 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 12 shares during the quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $985.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $152.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,024.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $969.98. 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price target on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

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.