BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,245.00

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BLK. Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BlackRock from $774.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Argus increased their price target on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $991.46.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,015.70 on Monday. 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 $596.18 and a 12 month high of $1,019.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $909.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $834.95.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 41.73 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,042 shares of company stock valued at $56,857,777 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 29,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,858,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 816 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 5,341 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,071,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,555,000. 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.