KBC Group NV Acquires New Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

KBC Group NV bought a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 14,119 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $14,473,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays lowered 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 research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,053.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $163.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,024.30 and a 200 day moving average of $958.99. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

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.