BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,077.08.

A number of research firms have commented on BLK. UBS Group decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,531,656.40. The trade was a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 12,430 shares of company stock worth $12,838,649 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:BLK traded down $7.98 on Thursday, reaching $908.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,571. The firm has a market cap of $141.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. 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 has a 12-month low of $748.02 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $923.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $983.77.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.81 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

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.