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

Key Points

• BlackRock has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from 18 covering firms, with 15 buy ratings and an average 12-month target price of about $1,304.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $13.91 on revenue of $7.08 billion, with revenue up 30.6% year over year.
• Shares were down 1.4% in Friday trading, while recent analyst updates remained broadly positive, including raised price targets and continued buy/outperform ratings.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,304.2941.

A number of analysts recently commented on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,389.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,258.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,072.30 on Friday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $917.39 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $166.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,033.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,043.13. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $13.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.69 by $1.22. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 24.09%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $12.05 EPS. The business's revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 54.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $5.73 dividend. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 57.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

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

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting BlackRock

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock reported record second-quarter results, with revenue and earnings beating Wall Street estimates and client assets reaching a new high, highlighting strong operating momentum. Blackrock CEO Says Client Demand Has ‘Never Been Greater’ as Assets Reach Record $15.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on BlackRock to $1,300 and kept an outperform view, while other firms also lifted targets after the earnings beat, signaling rising Street confidence. BlackRock price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan upgraded BlackRock to overweight/buy-equivalent and Bank of America reiterated a buy rating, citing growth opportunities in tokenization, private markets, direct indexing, and automation-led margin expansion. JP Morgan upgrades BlackRock to buy-equivalent after Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s iShares business surpassed $6 trillion in assets, and Bitcoin ETF inflows continued to support the firm’s fast-growing ETF platform, reinforcing a strong fee-based growth story. BlackRock iShares Surpasses $6 Trillion in Assets
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted BlackRock’s expanding ownership stakes in other companies and broader market commentary, but these items are not likely to materially move BLK shares on their own.

BlackRock Company Profile

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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