Insider Selling: BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) CEO Sells 29,450 Shares of Stock

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, May 20th, Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of BlackRock stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total value of $25,008,229.62.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $856.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $810.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $799.81. The firm has a market cap of $127.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 5.32 and a current ratio of 5.32. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $885.10.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 32.36%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Argus lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $924.00 to $912.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $872.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 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.