Narwhal Capital Management Increases Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Narwhal Capital Management increased its position in BlackRock by 4.7% in Q2, owning 23,201 shares worth approximately $24.34 million, making it the 12th largest holding in their portfolio.
• BlackRock reported an EPS of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9% to $5.42 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share with an annualized yield of 1.8%, contributing to a dividend payout ratio of 50.39%.

Narwhal Capital Management lifted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,201 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises 2.0% of Narwhal Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in BlackRock were worth $24,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 266 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 2,023 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 799 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 223 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 123 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0%

BLK stock opened at $1,166.90 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,131.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,031.25. The company has a market capitalization of $180.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. 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 has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,184.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,362.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,222.87.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.