BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a research report issued on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $951.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,000.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $983.89. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $147.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,620 shares of company stock valued at $115,571,370 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.