BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Lowered to $1,046.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,126.92.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $963.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $975.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $992.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total value of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 138,682.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $572,730,000. Finally, Amundi purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $528,792,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.