BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given New $1,175.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $1,155.00 to $1,175.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.44% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,215.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BlackRock from $914.00 to $971.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on BlackRock from $960.00 to $1,077.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,102.17.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK traded down $21.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $992.07. The company had a trading volume of 136,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,189. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,029.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $943.81. BlackRock has a one year low of $745.55 and a one year high of $1,082.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 1.53 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 (NYSE:BLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $11.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.52 by $0.41. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 31.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 43.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 $43,845,393.48. This trade represents a 56.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 36,190 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,432. The trade was a 84.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.