BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given New $1,181.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,341.00 to $1,181.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 22.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,244.00 to $1,267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group upgraded BlackRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,280.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded BlackRock from a “moderate buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,291.44.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.1%

BLK opened at $967.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $150.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,029.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,075.95. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, CFO Martin Small sold 27,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,171.14, for a total value of $31,675,823.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,363,724.98. This trade represents a 71.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 54,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,087.29, for a total value of $58,920,245.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 51,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,971,514.62. The trade was a 51.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 111,319 shares of company stock valued at $123,999,249 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 450.0% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.