Insider Selling: BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) CEO Sells 12,054 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Laurence Fink, CEO of BlackRock, recently sold 12,054 shares of the company's stock valued at approximately $13.57 million, reducing his total ownership to 251,697 shares.
• BlackRock's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $12.05, exceeding analysts' expectations by $1.64, and revenue increased by 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.85%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, July 24th, Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of BlackRock stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK traded up $2.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,120.79. 422,009 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 646,910. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,130.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The firm has a market cap of $173.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,032.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $978.79.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $2,018,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $40,868,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $15,307,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

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.