Brokerages Set BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) PT at $883.47

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $902.13.

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $885.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $857.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $814.37. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $903.46. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 41.34 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 51.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at $298,272,703.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total transaction of $10,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $24,957,000. SRN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 45.1% in the 2nd quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Farmers National Bank raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,089 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,432,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 245.2% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 901 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.