Bank of America Lowers BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target to $1,178.00

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) had its price target cut by Bank of America from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the asset manager's stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,261.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,130.85.

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BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $65.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $822.38. 1,613,881 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 672,271. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $968.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $991.65. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $745.55 and a 52-week high of $1,084.22. The company has a market cap of $127.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. This is a positive change from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. BlackRock's payout ratio is 49.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,010.00, for a total transaction of $10,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,117,330. The trade was a 12.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 277 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in BlackRock by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,279 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,496,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is 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.