AXQ Capital LP Takes $1.20 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,166 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position 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 worth $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $950.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $980.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $987.70. The stock has a market cap of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

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.