BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at BMO Capital Markets

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was upgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,160.75 on Thursday. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,183.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The company has a market capitalization of $179.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,129.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,027.68.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.