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

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

BLK has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,017.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $950.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $980.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $988.41. The stock has a market capitalization 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 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,084.22. 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 (NYSE:BLK) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $325,000. Objective Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $377,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,309 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 25,562 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,204,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,076,000. 80.69% of the stock is 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.