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

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) 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) 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.