BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,269.0556.

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,022.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,033.31 and its 200 day moving average is $1,051.75. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $917.39 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 14.74%. BlackRock’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 52.8 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.73 per share. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 57.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president owned 210,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at $242,168,583.80. This trade represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evansbrook LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 939 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Stillwater Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $322,000. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $295,000. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Blue Fin Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 4,273 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,110,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s bullish investment case may be getting stronger, according to a new analysis that points to supportive fundamentals and continued investor interest. BlackRock’s Bullish Case Gets Stronger
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock disclosed a 5% stake in Kiwi Property Group, reinforcing its role as an active investor with exposure to real assets. BlackRock Takes 5% Stake in Kiwi Property Group
• Positive Sentiment: Jio BlackRock said it plans to give Indian investors access to global BlackRock ETFs through GIFT City, which could broaden distribution and support long-term asset gathering. Jio BlackRock plans access to global BlackRock ETFs for Indian investors via GIFT City
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock-backed Akaysha Energy is attracting interest from industry buyers and pension funds, potentially unlocking value in one of its private investments. Funds, Industry Buyers Eye BlackRock’s Australian Battery Builder Akaysha
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock executives continued to promote a long-term, risk-aware market stance, which may help sentiment but does not directly change near-term earnings. BlackRock’s Rick Rieder on bull market risks
• Negative Sentiment: BlackRock was included in a broad selloff among alternative managers after fears mounted over Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund redemption requests, raising concern about liquidity across the sector. Alternative Managers Shares Slip as Cliffwater Redemption Fears Mount
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin ETF outflows remained heavy, with BlackRock’s IBIT cited as a major source of redemptions, which could pressure sentiment around the company’s ETF franchise and crypto-related growth. Bitcoin ETFs Lose $4.4B as Outflows Hit 13-Day Record Run
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said a large 7,000 BTC transfer involving BlackRock added to crypto market anxiety, contributing to volatility around IBIT-related headlines. Bitcoin Shudders as a Colossal 7,000 BTC Transfer from BlackRock and the Winklevoss Twins Sparks Intense Panic

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.