Allianz SE Makes New Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $11,043,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $947.48 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $978.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $990.69. The company has a market capitalization of $147.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on BlackRock in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Citigroup raised their price objective 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.