Calton & Associates Inc. Takes $19.32 Million Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,416 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $19,323,000. BlackRock comprises approximately 2.3% of Calton & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Securian Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,018,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,868,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,307,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded down $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,104.21. 991,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 702,213. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,013.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $972.96. The stock has a market cap of $171.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,119.19. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

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 value of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Company 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.