BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,302.5882.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Loop Capital set a $1,255.00 price target on BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,312.00 to $1,305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 450.0% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. raised its holdings in BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,075.11 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,101.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,083.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.33. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 53.59%.

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.