Analysts Set BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) PT at $1,039.17

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,040.50.

BLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,028.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.92 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 has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,023.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $915.10.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the third quarter worth $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter worth about $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

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.