BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Director J. Richard Kushel Sells 2,000 Shares

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

J. Richard Kushel also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 28th, J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10.
• On Thursday, January 30th, J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $894.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a 12-month low of $748.02 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $924.53 and its 200-day moving average is $983.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,077.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $518,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in BlackRock by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 39,539 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,532,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864 shares in the last quarter. 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.