AIA Group Ltd Has $2.68 Million Stock Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd reduced its stake in BlackRock by 19.8%, resulting in 2,834 shares valued at approximately $2.68 million.
• Insiders have sold a significant amount of stock recently, with Director J. Richard Kushel and Director Rachel Lord selling a combined total of over $39 million in shares.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.8%, with 80.69% of the stock currently held by institutional investors.

AIA Group Ltd lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,834 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 700 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 64 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,619,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $1.55 on Thursday, reaching $1,161.58. 407,611 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 767,336. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,064.92 and a 200-day moving average of $988.28. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89. The company has a market capitalization of $179.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

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.