UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 876,836 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 401.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.71% of BlackRock worth $1,122,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 633,779 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $572,730,000. Amundi bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $528,792,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $343,976,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $993.19 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $752.30 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market cap of $154.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $917.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $978.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,077.08.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.