StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a report released on Sunday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $985.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,024.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.98. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The company has a market capitalization of $152.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock worth $115,163,141 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLK. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 927 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in BlackRock by 376.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 7.4% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 407 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,892 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 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.