BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,120.67.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,072.64, for a total transaction of $10,726,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,403,973.12. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,016,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $325,000. Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $377,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,309 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 25,562 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,204,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $947.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $978.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $991.44. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from BlackRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is presently 49.62%.

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.