Analysts Set BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Target Price at $1,303.41

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,302.5294.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,301.00 to $1,407.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research lowered BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,057.41 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,127.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,074.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,680,334,000 after acquiring an additional 227,192 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,281,641,000 after acquiring an additional 34,049 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after purchasing an additional 842,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,841,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,146,663,000 after purchasing an additional 10,591 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.