BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,261.00

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday, December 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,040.50.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,028.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.92 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,023.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $915.10.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

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

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,227,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.5% during the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.