UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,053.00 to $1,046.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,077.08.

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BlackRock Trading Up 0.1 %

BLK stock traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $890.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 227,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,576. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $745.55 and a 1 year high of $1,084.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $939.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $987.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23.

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

BlackRock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from BlackRock's previous quarterly dividend of $5.10. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 430 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $949.37, for a total value of $408,229.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,531,656.40. This trade represents a 10.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 20,430 shares of company stock worth $21,234,629 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.