BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,082.46.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,035.00 to $1,105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total transaction of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,261,628.34. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of BLK traded down $17.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $971.24. The stock had a trading volume of 674,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,304. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $758.20 and a fifty-two week high of $1,084.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $934.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $972.41. 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 firm has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The asset manager reported $11.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.84 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.63%.

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.