BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $1,364.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous target price of $1,165.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.20% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on BLK. UBS Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,145.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,304.29.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,072.30 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,033.74 and its 200 day moving average is $1,043.13. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.09% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 54.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total value of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

More BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported record second-quarter results, with revenue and earnings beating Wall Street estimates and client assets reaching a new high, highlighting strong operating momentum. Blackrock CEO Says Client Demand Has ‘Never Been Greater’ as Assets Reach Record $15.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,300 and kept an outperform view, while other firms also lifted targets after the earnings beat, signaling rising Street confidence. BlackRock price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan upgraded BlackRock to overweight/buy-equivalent and Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, citing growth opportunities in tokenization, private markets, direct indexing, and automation-led margin expansion. JP Morgan upgrades BlackRock to buy-equivalent after Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares business surpassed $6 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin ETF inflows continued to support the firm’s fast-growing ETF platform, reinforcing a strong fee-based growth story. BlackRock iShares Surpasses $6 Trillion in Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock’s expanding ownership stakes in other companies and broader market commentary, but these items are not likely to materially move BLK shares on their own.

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.