BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Up 0.7% – Should You Buy?

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shares traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $982.00 and last traded at $980.07. 95,783 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 784,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $973.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $151.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,021.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 47.44 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.