BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm set a "hold" rating on the asset manager's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on BLK. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,045.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,275.00 to $1,124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK traded up $7.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $965.26. 135,793 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 684,509. The company has a market cap of $149.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $912.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $978.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $752.30 and a 12-month high of $1,084.22.

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $852.01, for a total value of $1,704,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 66,034 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

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.