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

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) dropped 5% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $1,021.37 and last traded at $1,021.55. Approximately 357,910 shares traded hands during mid-day 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Barclays lowered their target price on 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. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,026.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $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 firm 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 48.57%.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $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.