Catalina Capital Group LLC Purchases Shares of 493 BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 493 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLK. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock traded down $4.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $974.60. The stock had a trading volume of 855,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,307. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $150.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $948.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $970.38. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Argus raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,028.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,096.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.