BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Lowered to $1,160.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research 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, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,083.92.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $954.19 on Monday. BlackRock has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,030.22 and a 200 day moving average of $942.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The company has a market capitalization of $147.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 43.18 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 3rd quarter worth about $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth approximately $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. 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.