BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Trading Up 0.2%

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $810.43 and last traded at $809.08. 70,738 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 611,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $807.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $930.00 price target (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $845.42.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $120.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $792.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $775.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 5.32 and a quick ratio of 5.32.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.31 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total transaction of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total transaction of $29,498,425.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,037 shares of company stock valued at $61,743,127. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in BlackRock by 208.3% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.