BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, a decrease of 13.9% from the December 15th total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 662,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,103.33.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 491 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Trust Co. of Oklahoma lifted its position in BlackRock by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 2,037 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,088,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 431 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK traded up $8.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,004.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,079,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 610,586. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,082.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,027.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $947.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 43.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

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.