Invesco (NYSE:IVZ – Get Free Report) and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Free Report) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

66.1% of Invesco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of BlackRock shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Invesco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of BlackRock shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Invesco pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. BlackRock pays an annual dividend of $20.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Invesco pays out 57.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BlackRock pays out 53.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Invesco has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and BlackRock has raised its dividend for 16 consecutive years.

This is a summary of current recommendations for Invesco and BlackRock, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Invesco presently has a consensus price target of $23.63, indicating a potential downside of 3.14%. BlackRock has a consensus price target of $1,302.59, indicating a potential upside of 20.59%. Given BlackRock’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BlackRock is more favorable than Invesco.

This table compares Invesco and BlackRock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Invesco has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BlackRock has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

This table compares Invesco and BlackRock”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

BlackRock has higher revenue and earnings than Invesco. Invesco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BlackRock, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

BlackRock beats Invesco on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.