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

Key Points

• BlackRock currently has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 16 buy ratings, 1 strong buy, and 3 hold ratings across 20 analysts. The average 1-year price target is about $1,264.61.
• Recent insider selling included stock sales by President Robert Kapito and CEO Laurence Fink, both of which reduced their holdings. Even so, insiders still own 1.92% of the company and institutional investors hold a large majority at 80.69%.
• BlackRock reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $12.53 on revenue of $6.70 billion, both above analyst estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share, equal to a 2.2% annualized yield.

Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,264.6111.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,220.00 to $1,140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,235.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total transaction of $9,233,627.40. Following the sale, the president directly owned 210,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,082,527.60. This trade represents a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $242,168,583.80. The trade was a 12.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $259,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the second quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $98,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,049.74 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,048.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,052.07. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 4.09.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.40 by $0.13. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $5.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

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.

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