BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• BlackRock has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 15 brokerages, with an average price target of approximately $1,154.07.
• Recent insider transactions included the sale of over 66,000 shares by company directors, indicating a decrease in ownership among insiders.
• The company reported earnings of $12.05 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $5.21 on September 23rd.

Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,154.0714.

Several analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business'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 value of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.2% during the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 435 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.4% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,664,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 814 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $854,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,702,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 42,861 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $44,122,000 after acquiring an additional 12,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

BLK stock traded up $5.63 on Friday, reaching $1,142.76. 1,504,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 499,193. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The company has a market cap of $176.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,119.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,013.18.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

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.