Avestar Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Avestar Capital LLC cut its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 813 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $980.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,021.99 and a 200-day moving average of $971.97. The stock has a market cap of $151.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Sunday, February 9th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.