Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,579 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,760 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $33,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 89,389.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,046,131 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $993,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044,962 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,468.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 792,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,526,120,000 after acquiring an additional 791,874 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $343,976,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $330,662,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,363,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,244,608,000 after purchasing an additional 226,135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7 %

BLK opened at $973.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,020.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $972.03. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.