BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,514.00 at Morgan Stanley

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $1,486.00 to $1,514.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,312.00 to $1,305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 14th. Argus lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,360.00 to $1,340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,316.18.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.3%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,064.89 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,086.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,090.35. The stock has a market cap of $165.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.47.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 53.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,346.42. The trade was a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% during the third 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 period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently 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.