BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Up 1% - Time to Buy?

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1,063.96 and last traded at $1,061.71. 110,586 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 764,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,051.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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, Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1,024.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $958.99. The stock has a market cap of $163.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.66 EPS. Analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $69,117,330. This represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,190 shares of company stock valued at $104,436,741. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

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.

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