BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Short Interest Up 32.7% in April

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,950,000 shares, an increase of 32.7% from the March 31st total of 1,470,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 937,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $8.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $928.36. 626,677 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 685,713. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $144.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $914.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $979.54. 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 (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 401.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 633,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $572,730,000. Institutional investors 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.