Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $254.83 Million Stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in BlackRock by 11.9% in the first quarter, holding approximately $254.83 million worth of shares.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, while its revenue increased by 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21, with an annualized yield of 1.9%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 50.39%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,234 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 28,557 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.17% of BlackRock worth $254,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after buying an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,200,450,000 after buying an additional 93,844 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,312,759,000 after buying an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,152,907,000 after buying an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,591,716 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,631,684,000 after buying an additional 272,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the firm's 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 transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock traded up $11.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,124.20. The stock had a trading volume of 427,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,734. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The firm has a market cap of $174.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,054.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $985.49. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,131.93.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

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.