Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BLK. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,063.00.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,039.70 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $161.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,082.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,023.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $915.99. 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 quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.3% during the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.