BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.39 EPS

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The asset manager reported $9.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 30.81%. BlackRock’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.93 earnings per share.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $763.40 on Monday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $596.18 and a fifty-two week high of $845.00. The stock has a market cap of $113.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $808.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $753.65.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total value of $5,085,660.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 11,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,366,142.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher J. Meade sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.54, for a total transaction of $5,085,660.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 11,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,366,142.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,511 shares of company stock valued at $71,864,028. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 334 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 450 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Spreng Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in BlackRock by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 404 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. UBS Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $930.00 price target (up from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.29.

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.