KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $51.31 Million Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 50,055 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $51,312,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $950.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $980.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $987.70. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

BlackRock Company 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.