BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $1,280.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,160.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $179.74 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,129.67 and its 200-day moving average is $1,027.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,183.50.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,680,334,000 after purchasing an additional 227,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,281,641,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,104,122,000 after acquiring an additional 842,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,789,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,280 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.