Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.58% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday, December 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,040.50.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,028.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,023.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $915.10. The firm has a market cap of $159.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 59.8% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 2,708 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 9.3% in the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,323 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 26,478 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,847,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 7,416 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,839,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 7,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company Profile

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.