Wall Street Zen Upgrades BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) to Hold

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

BLK has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,486.00 to $1,514.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,280.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,180.00 price target on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,360.00 to $1,340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,316.18.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,088.78 on Friday. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market cap of $168.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.47. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $1,073.87 and a 200-day moving average of $1,094.95.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly 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). BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $11.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,312,572.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,346.42. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. The trade was a 62.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $2,644,007,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 105,267.4% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after buying an additional 1,704,280 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 842,901 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in BlackRock by 1,962.0% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 792,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $831,524,000 after acquiring an additional 754,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,243,059,000 after acquiring an additional 555,098 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Company Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.