BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given New $1,040.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $960.00 to $1,040.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. They set a hold rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus increased their price target on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $774.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an overweight rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $932.71.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $949.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $890.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $826.67. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $596.18 and a 1-year high of $960.74.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The business had revenue of $4.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 41.37 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 51.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,826,802.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total transaction of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,826,802.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $31,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.