Laurence Fink Sells 14,828 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

Key Points

• BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the company's stock for a total of approximately $16.64 million, reducing his ownership by 5.32%.
• The company reported earnings of $12.05 per share, beating analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue of $5.42 billion, up 12.9% year-over-year.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.85%, to be paid on September 23rd to shareholders of record on September 5th.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Laurence Fink also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, July 25th, Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded up $2.97 on Tuesday, reaching $1,120.79. The company had a trading volume of 422,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,910. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,130.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,032.58 and its 200 day moving average is $978.79. The company has a market cap of $173.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.