BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $950.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $980.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $989.13. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This is an increase from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.62%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. Corporate 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in 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 valued at $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $572,730,000. Finally, Amundi purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $528,792,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.