BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,019.62.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.2 %

BlackRock stock opened at $1,042.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,004.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $896.94. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $742.22 and a 1-year high of $1,068.34. The company has a market cap of $161.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick ratio of 5.06.

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.83, for a total value of $18,824,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,023,421.24. This represents a 67.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,190 shares of company stock valued at $113,161,681 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 81.5% during 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 during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently 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.