Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Bank of America from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 43.24% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BLK. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Saturday, March 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,130.85.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $822.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $745.55 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $968.78 and a 200-day moving average of $991.65.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total transaction of $408,229.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $21,234,629. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other 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.