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

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

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BLK. Evercore ISI increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,070.08.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $985.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $152.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. BlackRock has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,031.57 and its 200 day moving average is $938.17.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.91 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 43.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction of $56,485,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 156.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,839,000 after purchasing an additional 3,749 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 2,411 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 27.2% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 54,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,302,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently 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.