BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) fell 1.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $967.18 and last traded at $970.07. 99,997 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 792,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $988.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $150.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,023.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.96.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. 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 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 23,436 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,024,000 after purchasing an additional 2,830 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its position in BlackRock by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. United Bank now owns 1,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $615,000. American Money Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 7,551 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,741,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 6,530 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.