Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 2,089 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. decreased its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 35.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,759 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,089 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,712,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,405 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after buying an additional 93,844 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,072,787,000 after acquiring an additional 190,188 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,450,475,000 after buying an additional 26,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,356,357,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped 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 research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,261,628.34. The trade was a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,430 shares of company stock worth $21,963,649. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK traded down $15.97 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $904.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 316,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,428. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $919.18 and a 200 day moving average of $982.91. BlackRock, Inc. has a one year low of $748.78 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.