BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 8.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,219 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 715 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises 1.1% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,076.28 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $976.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,111.00 to $1,164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $994.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,110.92.

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.