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

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

BLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Argus upped their target price on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,019.62.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,047.01 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $155.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $962.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $866.74. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $697.70 and a 1 year high of $1,068.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 43.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,000. This represents a 64.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.