Avanza Fonder AB Makes New $9.97 Million Investment in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,727 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $9,971,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in BlackRock by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $65,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $8.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,004.23. 1,079,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 845,727. BlackRock, Inc. has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,028.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $944.64.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,103.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Company 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.