BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $774.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $991.46.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:BLK traded up $4.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,007.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 505,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,853. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $1,032.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $915.45 and a 200-day moving average of $837.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.42 by $1.04. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 41.73 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,826,802.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other BlackRock news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $900.00, for a total value of $10,800,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pamela Daley sold 1,531 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $842.08, for a total value of $1,289,224.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,826,802.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,042 shares of company stock worth $56,857,777 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,354,236 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,630,127,000 after buying an additional 435,358 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,990,052,000 after buying an additional 292,017 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $161,918,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 174.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 184,291 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $145,096,000 after buying an additional 117,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $86,282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

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.