Brokerages Set BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Price Target at $1,083.92

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,103.33.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. 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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth about $31,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.9 %

BlackRock stock opened at $1,004.23 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,027.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $948.40. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.35%.

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.