Avanza Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Avanza Fonder AB trimmed its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,384 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 343 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock traded up $1.40 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $993.30. The company had a trading volume of 645,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,459. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $758.20 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $927.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $972.57.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.81 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.63%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays lifted their target price 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, Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,082.46.

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.