Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,116 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $14,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,352 shares of company stock valued at $55,486,962. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,123.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,027.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $976.79. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,130.66. The stock has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

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.

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