BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.41 EPS

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $995.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,028.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $944.29. The stock has a market cap of $154.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,103.33.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% 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.