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

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat 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 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,120.67.

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $991.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $153.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,025.55 and its 200-day moving average is $967.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.45 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 48.57%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently 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.