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

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $976.84 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,017.80 and its 200 day moving average is $974.94. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $151.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total value of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 110,190 shares of company stock valued at $115,163,141. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 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.