BlackRock (BLK) to Release Earnings on Friday

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) is expected to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Friday, April 11th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $10.84 per share and revenue of $5.47 billion for the quarter. Individual that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect BlackRock to post $47 EPS for the current fiscal year and $54 EPS for the next fiscal year.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $814.71 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $955.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $989.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,103.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in BlackRock stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.