Insider Selling: BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Director Sells $865,725.54 in Stock

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) Director Stephen Cohen sold 1,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.46, for a total value of $865,725.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,115,557.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Stephen Cohen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 3rd, Stephen Cohen sold 390 shares of BlackRock stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $756.26, for a total value of $294,941.40.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $757.16 on Friday. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $503.12 and a fifty-two week high of $824.87. The stock has a market cap of $113.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $726.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $679.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 13th. The asset manager reported $8.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.99 by $0.94. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 28.97%. The business had revenue of $4.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.16 billion. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 34.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 7th will be given a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 6th. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.88. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on BlackRock from $495.00 to $481.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BlackRock from $785.00 to $828.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $642.00 to $846.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $741.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $738.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wagner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 275.0% during the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 45 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 78.6% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 50 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Horan Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 38 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Align Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

About BlackRock

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BlackRock, Inc engages in providing investment management, risk management, and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. Its products include single and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market instruments. The company was founded by Ralph L.