BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given New $1,175.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $995.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $154.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,028.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $944.29. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,082.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is 50.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.