Allstate Corp Invests $2.70 Million in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in BlackRock, purchasing 2,849 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million in the first quarter.
• Insider activity includes BlackRock's CEO Laurence Fink and Director Rachel Lord selling significant shares, leading to a total of 66,494 shares sold worth over $74 million in the last ninety days.
• BlackRock recently reported quarterly earnings of $12.05 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $5.21 for investors on record.

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,849 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,697,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 6.0% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,974 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 10,478 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,917,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in BlackRock by 15.5% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 7,683 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 261.2% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,800,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

BlackRock stock traded down $6.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,133.45. The stock had a trading volume of 307,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,243. The company has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,092.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $994.55. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About BlackRock

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.