BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Up 0.5%

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)’s stock price traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $770.49 and last traded at $767.92. 115,799 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 615,251 shares. The stock had previously closed at $763.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $930.00 price objective (up previously from $918.00) on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $818.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $742.00 to $767.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded BlackRock from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $819.00 to $938.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,013.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.42.

BlackRock Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $796.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $768.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 3.48.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $9.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.42 by $0.39. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.26% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,425,128.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 36,059 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.06, for a total value of $29,498,425.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,910,292.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.92, for a total value of $25,089,701.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,425,128.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,987 shares of company stock worth $55,353,400 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,918,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,181,346,000 after acquiring an additional 749,654 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in BlackRock by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,853,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,952 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in BlackRock by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,369,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,178,048,000 after purchasing an additional 104,844 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,329,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,148,586,000 after purchasing an additional 35,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,006,490,000 after purchasing an additional 58,681 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.