BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Earns “Buy (B-)” Rating from Weiss Ratings

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)‘s stock had its “buy (b-)” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,280.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,258.13.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,165.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,184.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,134.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,033.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,644,007,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 105,267.4% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,789,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,280 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after acquiring an additional 842,901 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1,962.0% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 792,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $831,524,000 after acquiring an additional 754,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after acquiring an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. 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.