StockNews.com Begins Coverage on BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,225.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $923.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $143.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $752.30 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $913.01 and a 200-day moving average of $978.51.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.84 by $0.46. BlackRock had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 31.21%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.81 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total value of $9,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock worth $11,237,249 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 533 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 400 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 156.6% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,122 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,502,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Company Profile

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.