BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $1,111.00 to $1,164.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.15% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,110.92.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,076.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $976.32 and its 200-day moving average is $969.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,256,025. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,356,357,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 401.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 138,682.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 634,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 633,779 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $572,730,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.