BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,010.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,019.62.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,036.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $984.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $879.49. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $724.54 and a twelve month high of $1,068.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The company has a market capitalization of $160.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.91 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 43.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. The trade was a 64.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 0.3% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently 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.