Calamos Advisors LLC Purchases 283 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Calamos Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,614 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $572,730,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $994.00 to $1,115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,110.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded up $5.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,076.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 342,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,677. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $976.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $969.46. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.63%.

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.