USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,546 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 859 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in BlackRock were worth $32,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in BlackRock by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $46,284,000. Finally, Blue Square Asset Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $3,243,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE BLK opened at $993.19 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $917.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $978.10. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $752.30 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. 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 market capitalization of $154.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share. Research 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 $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock 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.