Before the opening bell on Thursday, a number of big name, dividend paying companies announced their quarterly earnings. Below, we look at these earnings reports and break down the important points for investors.

BlackRock Beats Q4 EPS Estimates

Earnings
BlackRock, Inc. (BLK ) reported fourth quarter earnings of $813 million, or $4.77 per share, down from $841 million, or $4.86 per share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings came in at $821 million, or $4.82 per share, above analysts’ view of $4.70 per share.

Revenue
Revenue rose to $2.784 billion from last year’s $2.777 billion. On average, analysts expected to see $2.89 billion in revenue.

Lennar Corporation Posts Higher Q4 Results

Earnings
Lennar Corporation (LEN ) posted fourth quarter net income of $245.32 million, or $1.07 per share, up from $164.08 million, or 73 cents per share, last year. On average, analysts expected to see EPS of 96 cents per share.

Revenue
Revenue increased to $2.58 billion from $1.92 billion a year ago. Analysts expected to see revenue of $2.59 billion.

PPG Industries Beats Analyst Estimates

Earnings
PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG ) posted fourth quarter earnings of $83 million, or 60 cents per share, compared to $254 million, or $1.78 per share, last year. Excluding special items, earnings were $293 million, or $2.11 per share – above analysts’ view of $1.99 per share.

Revenue
Revenue increased to $3.71 billion from $3.5 billion last year.. Analysts expected to see revenue of $3.64 billion.

Fastenal Company Beats EPS Estimates

Earnings
Fastenal Company (FAST ) reported fourth quarter earnings of $118.39 million, or 40 cents per share, up from $99.23 million, or 33 cents per share, last year. Analysts expected to see earnings of 39 cents per share.

Revenue
Revenue rose to $926.25 million from $813.76 million last year. Analysts expected to see revenue of $935.84 million.