Aviso Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Aviso Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,113 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 321 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares in the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $528,792,000. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $343,976,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $330,662,000. Finally, National Pension Service purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $322,097,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $928.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $983.61 and a 200 day moving average of $985.61. 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) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

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.