BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Purchased by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,730 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up 1.1% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in BlackRock by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,918,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,181,346,000 after acquiring an additional 749,654 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,952 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,369,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,178,048,000 after acquiring an additional 104,844 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,006,490,000 after purchasing an additional 58,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,812,920,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of BLK stock traded up $4.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $791.41. The company had a trading volume of 43,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 5.32 and a quick ratio of 5.32. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $845.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $779.33 and a 200 day moving average of $793.03. The firm has a market cap of $117.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 32.26%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.93 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.25 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $930.00 price objective (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $845.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total transaction of $7,155,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total value of $25,008,229.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 383,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,327,694.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total value of $7,155,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Company Profile

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.