BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Short Interest Down 11.2% in June

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, a decline of 11.2% from the May 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 603,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $915.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.17.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total value of $25,008,229.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 383,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,327,694.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 9,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $795.00, for a total transaction of $7,155,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,151,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total value of $25,008,229.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 383,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,327,694.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 200 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 764 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $788.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 250,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,858. The company has a current ratio of 5.32, a quick ratio of 5.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $780.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $792.74. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $596.18 and a 52 week high of $845.00. The stock has a market cap of $117.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.42 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 32.26%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 41.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.84%.

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.