BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Strong Earnings

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 246,573 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the previous session’s volume of 604,080 shares.The stock last traded at $779.57 and had previously closed at $785.96.

The asset manager reported $9.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.24 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 30.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.93 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen raised BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 target price (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $798.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total transaction of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,425,128.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,910,292.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,511 shares of company stock worth $71,864,028 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLK. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 208.3% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $113.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $808.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $752.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48.

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.