BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLKGet Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,083.92.

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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.

Read Our Latest Research Report on BLK

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $954.19 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,030.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $942.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

BlackRock Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

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