Short Interest in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Rises By 18.9%

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the January 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 765,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE BLK traded down $7.08 on Friday, reaching $973.22. The company had a trading volume of 965,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,378. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,019.28 and a 200-day moving average of $972.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in BlackRock by 2.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,724,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 2.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 20.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.