Empire Life Investments Inc. Buys Shares of 1,627 BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. has acquired a new stake in BlackRock, purchasing 1,627 shares valued at approximately $1.54 million during the first quarter.
• BlackRock reported strong earnings with $12.05 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates, and a 12.9% year-over-year revenue increase to $5.42 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing a yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 50.39% for investors of record on September 5th.

Empire Life Investments Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,627 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,540,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after buying an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after buying an additional 329,244 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,591,716 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,631,684,000 after purchasing an additional 272,176 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $225,481,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $10.83 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,120.47. The stock had a trading volume of 404,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,821. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,130.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,046.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $983.01. The firm has a market cap of $173.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Company 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.