BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Price Target Raised to $1,325.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has raised its price target for BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.29% from the current price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• BlackRock's recent earnings report showed a significant beat, with $12.05 earnings per share against an estimate of $10.41, reflecting a 12.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider transactions revealed that directors sold a substantial number of shares, with a total of 66,494 shares sold in the last ninety days, indicating potential shifts in ownership dynamics.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the asset manager's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 14.29% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BLK. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,254.47.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,159.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,184.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,131.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,031.25.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% during the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 340 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank lifted its stake in BlackRock by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 103 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in BlackRock by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 72 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 817 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

About BlackRock

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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