Analysts Set BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Target Price at $1,039.17

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,040.50.

Several research firms have commented on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

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

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 81.5% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,028.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $159.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,023.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $915.10.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

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.