BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a report published on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BLK. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.2 %

BLK stock opened at $1,020.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,024.77 and a 200 day moving average of $952.31.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.43 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,190 shares of company stock worth $104,436,741 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.