Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,120.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,000.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,040.50.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.2 %

BLK stock traded up $12.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,028.69. 2,079,734 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 598,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.06 and a quick 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,022.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $912.46. The company has a market capitalization of $159.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $5.10 dividend. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $6,777,432. This trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,046.03, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter valued at $518,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the third quarter valued at $32,904,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,092 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 68,466 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $65,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,338 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,169,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently 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.