BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a research note released on Wednesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,070.08.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of BLK opened at $985.59 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,031.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $937.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06. The company has a market cap of $152.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.91 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 43.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 0.3% during 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. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 3.5% during the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.