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

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,039.17.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,056.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,015.33 and its 200 day moving average is $905.81. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $163.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $745.55 and a twelve month high of $1,082.45.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.83, for a total transaction of $18,824,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,023,421.24. The trade was a 67.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 108,190 shares of company stock valued at $113,161,681. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BlackRock by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 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.