Short Interest in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Drops By 30.6%

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,264,999 shares, a decline of 30.6% from the November 30th total of 1,822,480 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 622,979 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 622,979 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded down $1.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $1,087.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 294,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,088. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,073.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,095.66. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. The firm has a market cap of $168.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.47.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 53.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.7% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in BlackRock by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,390.00 to $1,322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,313.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,486.00 to $1,514.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,316.18.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.