Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.01% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.9 %

BlackRock stock opened at $1,004.23 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,028.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.64. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $745.55 and a 1-year high of $1,082.45. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business 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%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the third quarter worth $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% in the third 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 period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.