BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, December 7th. The firm set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,039.17.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,049.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $162.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,019.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $910.97. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,082.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter worth $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter worth $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.