Aviva PLC Buys 26,748 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Aviva PLC boosted its stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 89,233 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,748 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $91,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,356,357,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $528,792,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $343,976,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $330,662,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $822.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $968.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $991.65. The company has a market cap of $127.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,130.85.

BlackRock 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.