AG Asset Advisory LLC Makes New $360,000 Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

AG Asset Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 351 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $360,000. BlackRock comprises about 0.4% of AG Asset Advisory LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 401.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $572,730,000. Finally, Amundi acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $528,792,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of BLK traded down $9.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $971.54. The stock had a trading volume of 367,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,456. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $752.30 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $922.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $976.40. The company has a market cap of $150.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. 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 posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on 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 increased their target price on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

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.