BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, a growth of 18.9% from the January 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 765,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $2.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $976.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,048,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,720. The firm has a market cap of $151.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,017.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $974.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

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.