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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a research note issued on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BLK. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $947.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $147.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,084.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $978.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $992.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.