BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $1,245.00 to $1,261.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $864.00 to $914.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,105.00 to $1,133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com began coverage on BlackRock in a research note on Sunday, December 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,040.50.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,028.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $159.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.28. 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 has a 52 week low of $745.55 and a 52 week high of $1,082.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,023.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $914.21.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The asset manager reported $11.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.91 EPS. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 43.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in BlackRock by 59.8% during the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 2,708 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,132,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in BlackRock by 9.3% during the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,323 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in BlackRock by 2.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 26,478 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,847,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 7,416 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,839,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 96.6% in the second quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 7,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,747,000 after buying an additional 3,587 shares in the last quarter. 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.