BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,275.00 at Morgan Stanley

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 28.87% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Trading Down 2.3 %

BLK stock traded down $23.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $989.37. The company had a trading volume of 483,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,883. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,029.20 and a 200 day moving average of $943.81. 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 has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45. The company has a market capitalization of $153.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.66 EPS. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s 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 value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is 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.