BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the asset manager's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,046.00 to $988.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,065.00 to $1,035.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $950.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,077.08.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE BLK opened at $982.10 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $914.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $978.04. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $752.30 and a 12 month high of $1,084.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 5.23. The company has a market capitalization of $152.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 66,034 shares in the company, valued at $56,261,628.34. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,430 shares of company stock valued at $11,237,249. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Unisphere Establishment increased its stake in BlackRock by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 839,500 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $794,570,000 after purchasing an additional 189,500 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $4,498,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 0.5% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 61,079 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $57,810,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 4.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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