BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Director J. Richard Kushel Sells 2,000 Shares

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

J. Richard Kushel also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 28th, J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10.
• On Thursday, January 30th, J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $7.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $894.59. 553,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 685,051. The firm has a market cap of $138.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $748.02 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $924.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $983.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.