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

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a report released on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,120.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $947.48 on Friday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market cap of $147.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $978.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $990.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. This trade represents a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Bank raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 11,283 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,713,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 57,902 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,979,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,792,000. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 1,101 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.