BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,120.67.

Several analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.2 %

BlackRock stock opened at $947.96 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $994.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $985.86. The company has a market capitalization of $146.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 39.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 709 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 0.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in BlackRock by 9.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,836 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $96,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.