Narwhal Capital Management Buys 455 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Narwhal Capital Management raised its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,169 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises 1.9% of Narwhal Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in BlackRock were worth $20,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLK. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,096.31.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $974.60 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $948.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $969.40. The company has a market cap of $150.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company 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%. BlackRock's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.81 EPS. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.63%.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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