BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 60.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,460 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,190 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $572,730,000. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $343,976,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK traded down $5.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $964.56. The stock had a trading volume of 517,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,933. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $149.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $920.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $976.93.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.