BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Down 5% on Insider Selling

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) shares were down 5% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $1,021.37 and last traded at $1,021.55. Approximately 357,910 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 774,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,075.50.

Specifically, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Saturday, February 1st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market cap of $155.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,025.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $966.82.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.