Short Interest in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Rises By 18.9%

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the January 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 765,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.7 %

BLK stock traded down $7.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $973.22. 965,193 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,378. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,019.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $972.80. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 48.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Sunday, February 9th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,376,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,712,493,000 after acquiring an additional 68,405 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,983,583 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,681,472,000 after purchasing an additional 42,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in BlackRock by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,200,450,000 after purchasing an additional 93,844 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,006,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,072,787,000 after purchasing an additional 190,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,390,450 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,450,475,000 after purchasing an additional 26,485 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.