BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Trading 0.5% Higher

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s share price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $770.49 and last traded at $767.92. Approximately 115,799 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 615,251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $763.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $930.00 price target (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.42.

BlackRock Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $797.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $766.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The firm has a market cap of $115.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $805.55, for a total value of $765,272.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,574,225.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other BlackRock news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $805.55, for a total transaction of $765,272.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,574,225.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total transaction of $29,498,425.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,004 shares in the company, valued at $13,910,292.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,087 shares of company stock valued at $57,814,366. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in BlackRock by 208.3% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 37 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.