BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,396.00

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BLK has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,160.75 on Thursday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,183.50. The company has a market capitalization of $179.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,129.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,028.18.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLK. Welch Group LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its stake in BlackRock by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% in the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. 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.