BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Plans $5.00 Quarterly Dividend

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 24th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 8th will be given a dividend of 5.00 per share by the asset manager on Friday, June 23rd. This represents a $20.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%.

BlackRock has raised its dividend by an average of 13.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. BlackRock has a payout ratio of 49.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect BlackRock to earn $39.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $20.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.2%.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0 %

BLK traded down $6.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $655.00. 554,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,824. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $657.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $696.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 4.20 and a current ratio of 4.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $503.12 and a 1 year high of $785.65.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $7.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.71 by $0.22. BlackRock had a net margin of 28.13% and a return on equity of 13.66%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 34.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 35,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $694.50, for a total value of $24,862,405.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,363,712.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $689.06, for a total transaction of $396,209.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,670 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,910.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 35,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $694.50, for a total value of $24,862,405.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,363,712.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,374 shares of company stock valued at $27,346,615 in the last ninety days. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in BlackRock by 56.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 64 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $750.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on BlackRock from $800.00 to $779.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on BlackRock from $840.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $829.00 to $861.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on BlackRock from $763.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $755.92.

BlackRock Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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 Susan L.