BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,175.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.09% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,040.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on BlackRock in a report on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,103.33.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $18.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $995.02. 883,795 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,349. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $745.55 and a 12-month high of $1,082.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,028.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $944.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. The firm has a market cap of $154.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.52 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $5.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,045.90, for a total transaction of $37,851,121.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total value of $56,485,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. The trade was a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lmcg Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $692,000. Aspiriant LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth about $405,000. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,097 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,351,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,610,000. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,774,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.