Allstate Corp Increases Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its BlackRock stake by 105.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,681 shares and bringing its total holdings to 11,052 shares valued at about $11.83 million.
• BlackRock reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $12.53 versus estimates of $12.40 and revenue of $6.70 billion, up 27% from a year earlier.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, payable June 23, which annualizes to $22.92 and yields about 2.1%.

Allstate Corp boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 105.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,052 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 5,681 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 866.7% in the third quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 29 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,073.03 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,021.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,053.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 57.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. CICC Research lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,269.00 to $1,128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,269.06.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.

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