BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Trading 0.7% Higher – What’s Next?

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shares rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $982.00 and last traded at $980.07. Approximately 95,783 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 784,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $973.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BLK. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $151.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,021.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $971.97.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.