BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Down 5% on Insider Selling

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s share price dropped 5% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $1,021.37 and last traded at $1,021.55. Approximately 357,910 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 774,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,075.50.

Specifically, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 5.6 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,026.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $963.86. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $157.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.