BlackRock Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BLK)

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 4,069 call options on the company. This is an increase of 61% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,521 call options.

BlackRock Trading Up 3.7 %

BlackRock stock opened at $990.48 on Friday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $596.18 and a 12-month high of $996.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $899.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $831.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.30 by $1.16. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 41.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concentric Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in BlackRock by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 55,699 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $45,217,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in BlackRock by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 9,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,783,000 after buying an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,888 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $166,328,000 after acquiring an additional 18,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 1,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $774.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $972.23.

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.