BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,175.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,004.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,027.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $946.18. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company 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 for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 43.02 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BlackRock

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.