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

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

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BLK. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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 boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,160.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,129.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,027.68. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,183.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $2,644,007,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 105,267.4% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,705,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,789,915,000 after buying an additional 1,704,280 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 72.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,104,122,000 after buying an additional 842,901 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1,962.0% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 792,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $831,524,000 after buying an additional 754,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,243,059,000 after buying an additional 555,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.