Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Purchases 25 Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $6,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $914.87 on Tuesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $141.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $992.35 and a 200 day moving average of $986.21. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.62%.

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.