iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 584 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,625 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. United Bank raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth approximately $334,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 629 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in BlackRock by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,260 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $954.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $980.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $987.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.18%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

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.