StockNews.com Begins Coverage on BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a note issued to investors on Sunday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on BLK. UBS Group lowered their price target on BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Argus increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $774.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $991.46.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,007.02 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $915.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $837.50. The stock has a market cap of $149.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. 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 one year low of $596.18 and a one year high of $1,032.00.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 353,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,272,703.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $875.03, for a total transaction of $10,500,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,670,194.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,042 shares of company stock valued at $56,857,777 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth approximately $200,000. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in BlackRock by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 874 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 498 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 424 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by 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.