BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $916.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $917.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $981.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $748.78 and a 1-year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249 over the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $518,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,432,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in BlackRock by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,793,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in BlackRock by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,038,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 39,539 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,532,000 after buying an additional 12,864 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.