Groupama Asset Managment Has $3.32 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 34.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,234 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,695 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $944.75 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $146.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $976.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $993.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

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.