Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Grows Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLKFree Report) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $64,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,680,334,000 after buying an additional 227,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,281,641,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after purchasing an additional 842,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,280 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,093.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $169.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,093.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,104.88.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLKGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 22.93%.The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $11.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock 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 Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.21. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 58.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,351.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,311.11.

View Our Latest Analysis on BLK

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,084.22, for a total value of $5,738,776.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 46,185 shares in the company, valued at $50,074,700.70. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total value of $22,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $69,630,750. This trade represents a 24.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 109,967 shares of company stock worth $122,487,380. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About BlackRock

(Free Report)

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

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