Aviva PLC Grows Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,233 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 26,748 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of BlackRock worth $91,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,192 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in BlackRock by 7.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 373,505 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $354,647,000 after buying an additional 25,755 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,103.08.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of BLK traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $815.54. 581,989 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 680,018. The business has a 50 day moving average of $955.01 and a 200 day moving average of $989.88. The company has a market capitalization of $126.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.