Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $995.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $154.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,028.86 and its two-hundred 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. The company has a current ratio of 5.06, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 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.