Janus Henderson Group PLC Purchases 4,079 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,841 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BLK. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective 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. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $6.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $989.39. The company had a trading volume of 676,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,235. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $916.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $978.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The company has a market capitalization of $153.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.