BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.46 EPS

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.81 earnings per share.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $856.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $133.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $944.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $988.37.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,099.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

An institutional investor recently raised its position in BlackRock stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.