Conning Inc. Buys 696 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,436 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $35,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 123 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,111.00 to $1,164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,028.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,110.92.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,076.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $166.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $976.32 and a 200-day moving average of $969.46. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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