Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $15.12 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,747 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 758 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 256.4% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 7,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,774,000 after buying an additional 5,456 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 168,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $172,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 123 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 746 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price 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. UBS Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $909.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $141.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $987.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $985.88.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 EPS 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 given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 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.