APG Asset Management N.V. Trims Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,449 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,950 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $26,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 10.0 %

BLK stock opened at $897.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $947.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $988.95. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business 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 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid 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 2.32%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,099.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.