Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $45.62 Million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 44,380 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $45,618,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,130.85.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Trading Down 7.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $822.38 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $968.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $991.65. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $127.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued 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 business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.