BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shot up 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $982.00 and last traded at $980.07. 95,783 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 784,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $973.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $150.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. 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’s 50 day moving average is $1,019.28 and its 200-day moving average is $972.80.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value 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. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% 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.