StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Sunday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the asset manager's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,039.17.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,050.35 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,019.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $910.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $745.55 and a fifty-two week high of $1,082.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock 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 value of $37,851,121.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,432. This represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,845,393.48. This represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 81.5% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 49 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

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.